


Blackbird

by artemis15sc



Series: Blackbird Trilogy [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bellatrix Black - Freeform, F/M, Lily Evans - Freeform, Marauders, Narcissa Black - Freeform, Tedromeda - Freeform, rodolphus lestrange - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 55,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26573212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemis15sc/pseuds/artemis15sc
Summary: Andromeda Black dreams of a life free from the constraints of her family, but when she's forced into an arranged marriage with Rabastan Lestrange, that dreams seems all but shattered. Enter Ted Tonks, the quirky, muggleborn who constantly tries to sweep her off her feet. He's everything she never wanted, and yet she's drawn to him. With the darkness rising around him, right now might not be the best time for this little blackbird to learn how to fly.
Relationships: Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks
Series: Blackbird Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932772
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Ages and personalities of some characters have been changed for dramatic effect, rendering this story slightly AU. It'll still be true to the world and characters we all love. xD

_All I've ever wanted is to live my life for me._

"Andromeda," her mother said. "Andromeda, we have some exciting news for you."

It couldn’t be that exciting, as her mother remained perfectly still in her spot on the couch, her voice barely changing in inflection. Though something flashed through her dark eyes, like fire against the black sky.

_To make my own decisions, free of the restraints of others._

"Mother, it's been quite pleasant visiting with you, but I really must be getting back to school. I can't afford to miss any classes." She smiled weakly in an attempt to lighten her mother's intense stare. "You know how it is. You miss one day and then you’re miles—"

"Andromeda," Her mother interrupted. "Stop babbling."

Andromeda tried to avoid looking at her feet. "Sorry, mother."

Her mother tsked, "I understand you are eager to return to your studies, but you could have made that point in far less words."

Andromeda bit her lip. "You’re right, mother, on both counts, I am eager to return." _And to get away from him…_

Her mother smiled, a ghostly smile that held no real emotion. "See Cordelia, I told you, she is quite committed to her studies."

 _To choose my own path_.

"Yes,” came a voice from the shadows, and Mrs. Lestrange emerged. Her dark hair contrasted sharply with Mrs. Black's pale blond hair, and her blue eyes were bright with worry. “But a wife needs to be more than intelligent.”

Despite their differences, they seemed to have a lot of things in common. They both had tall, thin frames and stood as though the earth itself were beneath them. Their eyes were same devastatingly beautiful and equally empty.

“How committed is she to her blood?” Mrs. Lestrange asked.

 _I want to choose who I become_.

"My daughter would never dream of associating with anyone or anything beneath her. She is a Black." Andromeda could feel her mother's gaze return to her, could see the challenge there. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, but she dared not show any sign of weakness, not now. "She knows where her loyalties lie." She didn’t miss her mother’s unspoken threat.

"I see," Mrs. Lestrange said.

"Then you have no further arguments?" Her mother's voice was polite, but clipped.

Mrs. Lestrange only smiled, before daintily waving her fingers. “Rabastan, darling, do come here.”

 _To be me, without having to be afraid_.

Rabastan came forward, tall and wiry like his mother. His golden hair crept over his dark eyes, and there was a soft smile on his full lips. The curves and shadows of his face made him seem almost beautiful, though there was something about him that seemed off, or perhaps she just detested the way her heart pounded in his presence.

"I see no reason to delay." He mother stood, graceful as a hunting lioness, or that was how Andromeda pictured her. "On behalf my husband, Cygnus Arian Black, I do present my daughter, Andromeda Niobe Black, as the future spouse of your son, Rabastan Perseus Lestrange."

Andromeda gasped, she couldn't help it. An ice-cold chill washed over her, freezing her thoughts and body in that moment.

"I accept your proposal. Your daughter will make fine wife for my son." Mrs. Lestrange’s voice carried the same cool weight of her mother's.

 _To be free_.

Rabastan stepped forward, his eyes never leaving her. Her heart was still pounding, but it was like the sickening thud of a man being lead up the gallows. She shouldn’t be so dramatic. She’s lucky an arranged marriage was all she got after what she did.

He took her hand. "And do you accept me, milady?" His voice was the low purr of honey. She resisted the urge to pull away. She had only once choice, and this was it.

"I would not dare refuse such an offer, my lord." His eyes flashed as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it, his lips burning where they touched her skin.

_There are some things that never can be, some choices that will never be ours, and I have seen the last of mine_. 

Engaged. The word felt weird on her lips, but considering she had just started sixth year, it wasn’t exactly a word used to describe most people her age. Technically, she and Rabastan were only betrothed, since the ceremony wouldn’t take place until she left Hogwarts, nearly two years from now. Though from the way her parents talked about it, you’d think the ceremony was happening tomorrow.

She sighed. This had always been a possibility, but sometimes pureblood families let their children choose their spouses. She’d always though if she was good that would’ve been the case, and maybe if she had, it still would be. She was lucky only Bellatrix and her parents knew what she’d done. What was she supposed to have done though? If she hadn’t interfered, Bellatrix might’ve killed—

She slammed into something, or rather someone, and her books slid from her fingers and crashed to the floor. She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm—" she stopped. It was Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff and a fellow sixth year. He met her stare with a small, quirky smirk, but before she could reply he was bending down to pick up her books. She stared at him for a moment before realizing herself and hastily bent down to help him. Even as she bent down he was straightening back up. She nearly lost her balance trying to follow him back up, or maybe that’s because she found herself staring at him. He grinned, brushing his messy blond hair away from his eyes.

"Here ya go." He carefully tipped the books into her arms. She caught them, but somewhere in the process her hand brushed against his. She jumped back, tensing. The smile slipped from his lips and his eyes seemed to lose some of their luster.

"Don't worry, I doubt your blood will rot from such a brief touch with a Mudblood." He somehow managed to say that politely, though there was certainly a cool edge to his voice, and he said the word Mudblood like it was a bitter poison he was forced to swallow. "And I would like to point out, it was you who bumped into me."

"I—I—" she couldn’t formulate a defense, so instead she mumbled. "Sorry."

"I wasn't accusing you of anything," he said. He studied her, like she was some puzzle he thought it would be amusing to solve. It was an unsettling thought.

"Right," she said, confused, before adjusting the books in her arms and taking off down the hall.

"Aren't you supposed to going the other way?" he asked.

"No," she said, even though she had no idea. She just needed to get away, and that meant going this way.

She lost his reply in the noise of transitioning students. It might have been "Suit yourself." She'd made it up two flights of stairs before realizing he was right. She was supposed to be heading to charms next, which was on the complete other side of the school. Hoisting her bag up higher she took off toward charms, though there was absolutely no way she’d make it on time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda is forced to pair with ted Tonks during charms class.

"Nice of you to join us, Ms. Black." Andromeda blushed as she quickly shut the door behind her. It's bad enough to be called out for being late by any teacher in front of the whole class, but somehow Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice made it all worse.

"My apologies, Professor," she said. Like any teacher, her polite, calm tone immediately soothed him. He merely rolled his eyes as he returned, somewhat airily, to his instruction. She planned to sit in her normal seat near the back of the classroom, only to find it was taken by another student. Repressing the desire to slump her shoulders she quickly scanned the room for an empty seat, but the only available one was in the far left, next to Ted Tonks. He looked up, probably feeling her stare. He scanned the classroom as well and, coming to the same conclusion she had, returned his attention to her. His lips curved up into another one of those smirks as he lifted his hand and patted the seat next to him. 

Her cheeks filled with heat and she immediately stared at the ground to hide the blush that was sure to follow. Her mother had told her to never stare at her feet, it was a sign of weakness, of submission. And the Blacks did not submit to anyone. But she couldn't look at him! No, it had nothing to do with that, it was just that she couldn't let him see her, not that it would be a problem if he saw her it's just that she—

She forced herself to stop, and look up. She bypassed his face as she did, focusing instead on the wall above him as she went to her seat. The moment she sat down she focused her attention forward, refusing to even glance at him. But it wasn't enough to block out his voice, whispering,

"How was the scenic route?"

Her cheeks inflamed again, and she almost screamed in frustration. How many times could a person blush in a few minutes? One would think until the previous blush wore off, there would be no room for more blushing. They would be wrong.

She tried to focus on the lesson, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't ignore the person next to her. It was like she was hyperaware of his presence and every cell in her body wanted to glance over at him again, no matter how often her mind told it no. 

Except she couldn't resist. She opened her book and bent down into it, pretending to be searching for something, when really, she was glancing at him over the top of the cover. He didn’t notice, as he was too busy making his quill dance across his desk.

It’s funny how you could know someone for years and yet never noticed certain things, like how his skin reminded her of the pleasant yellow hue of sunlight. His whole demeanor seemed to scream sun, even his ever-present smile had a lightness about it.

"How's the view from down there?"

She let out a tiny gasp and straightened as she slammed the book closed, while Ted chuckled. Her slamming was pretty loud, loud enough to cause the people around them to look at her in alarm, but a majority of the class was already moving and talking, so they didn't notice anything. That was fortunate, but it also meant something was happening, and since she hadn't been paying attention, she didn't know what it was. She supposed she should ask someone, and she had an idea which someone, it was just…  
"We're supposed to be getting partners, to you know, practice what we've learned."

She looked over at him. He pressed his lips together and smiled toothlessly. She smiled, a nervous smile that by the time she turned away had turned into a grimace. She started towards Susannah, a shy Hufflepuff girl she usually partnered with during these things, only to find that she was partnering with someone else, another Hufflepuff boy. She glanced around, everyone else seemed to have a partner, which left…

She slowly turned back to face Ted, like a prisoner might turn to face the firing squad. He just looked at her. He wasn't smirking, but she could tell it was taking considerable effort on his part. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, and when she didn't he took the initiative.

"Did you need something?" he leaned forward like she'd said something, even though she hadn't. "A partner?" he straightened, "Yeah sure, I'll be your partner. Jeez, you just can't seem to stay away from me, can you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you sure it's me? You seem to have a habit of cropping up in my path." She almost regretted it, almost. Angering the person she was no supposed to work with probably wasn’t a good idea, but his lips spread into a grin and he chuckled. 

"I knew there was something I liked about you." He looked up at her again, and somehow, his whole demeanor seemed to brighten. "Shall we?" he indicated to an empty space in the classroom where they could practice. Andromeda nodded and followed him numbly, feeling like the floor had been pulled out from under her feet and she was now expected to walk on air.

Ted and Andromeda made their way over to a secluded corner. He turned to face her, his wand raised. She automatically raised hers in response, before realizing she still didn't know what they were doing. She stared at Ted, hoping he would take pity on her. He just smirked at her, a smirk that she was really starting to hate, and let her squirm for a bit before saying,

"We're supposed to be working on the silencing charm, you know like we did with the Ravens last year? Only this year we're doing it on each other, because that's more advanced, apparently, I don't know." His voice grew quieter. "Between you and me, I think Flitwick's fallen off his stack of books one too many times if you understand my meaning…" He twirled his hand around his head to emphasize the point.

Andromeda couldn't help it; she giggled, and immediately forced herself to stifle it to avoid any more awkward stares from their classmates. She took a deep breath, pulling back, pulling in. She needed to detach herself, before this got any weirder. She focused on him, yes, but without any sort of, spark. He seemed to sense her change in demeanor. A muscle in his jaw twitched and when he spoke his voice was uncharacteristically formal.

"Do you want to start?"

She just nodded, raising her wand. "Silencio."

He opened his mouth. "And…nope, sorry, didn't work."

She tried again, and again, but no matter how hard she tried, she just wasn't successful. She ran her hands through her long dark hair in frustration.

"You're just not properly motivated.," Ted said. "You need more encouragement." He cleared his throat. "So, is bumping into people your preferred way of getting attention? Because it seems there are other ways that are more effective and less embarrassing." He paused, looking thoughtful. "But then, of course, it does give you an excuse to have some one-on-one contact with them." His eyes narrowed. "Unless of course said person is a Mudblood, and said girl happens to be a bigot—"

She felt a rush of heat all throughout her body, and without thinking she shouted, "Silencio!" The words seemed to rip from some hidden corner of her body. His mouth opened and closed several times but made no sound. He tried to say something else in congratulations before realizing his mistake. Instead he gave her thumbs up. There also seemed to be something else in his face, but she couldn't quite make out what it was. Something…wary? Excited? Thoughtful? Whatever it was, it made her uncomfortable.  
She almost left him like that, as a way of repaying all the obnoxious things he'd said and done to her today, but in the end she couldn't do it.

"Resonus."

He massaged his throat. "Thanks." He smirked again. "See? All I had to do was make you angry—"

"You succeeded Andromeda?" Came the greasy voice of one her classmates, Amycus Carrow. He turned towards the two of them. Amycus had pale skin, startling blue eyes and chin-length grayish-brown hair. He was one of those people who might have been attractive, if he learned to comb his hair and wasn't leering all the time.  
"I don't know how you can concentrate with the stench." He glanced over at Ted. His leer twisted his face into some ugly shape. Andromeda stiffened, but Ted just raised his eyebrows.

"You're one to talk, Carrow."

Amycus's nostrils flared. "What did you just say, Tonks?"

"You heard me."

Amycus looked like he was inflating; it was quite alarming, actually. "Remember your place, Mudblood, or perhaps I need to remind you…"

"Come on over here and I would be happy to oblige you." Tonks said, his voice still had that calm, almost bored quality, but Andromeda could see him fingering his wand by his side. Her breath caught. "Especially if it involves sticking that wand of yours up your big, harry, A—"

"Are you threatening my brother?" His twin, Alecto, cut in. It always amazed Meda how much she looked like her brother despite the difference in gender.  
This time Ted didn't say anything, but his eyes flickered up toward the Professor. Amycus followed his gaze and turned back, sneering. "Looking to the professor to protect you, Tonks?"

"No, I just don't want him to be the one to have to pick the pieces of you off the floor after I'm done with you." His smirked returned. "He's one of my favorite teachers, you see."

Amycus's eyes bulged, Andromeda thought he was going to start screaming, but he managed to keep his voice at a whisper. "You insolent, rotten little as—"

Ted raised his wand and said, "Silencio!" Like Ted's, Amycus's mouth continued moving before he realized what had happened, only there was something more comical about it this time. Andromeda stifled her snort.

Considering neither Alecto nor Amycus were very bright, Andromeda doubted they'd mastered the basic charm yet, much less it's reversal. The two of them shuffled away, casting Ted dirty looks as they went to find someone who could restore Amycus's voice. 

Ted glanced over at her, his smirk returned. He was looking at her like this was their victory, even though she hadn't done anything. He probably expected her to smile or laugh again. But Andromeda couldn't focus, her heart was still racing from their fight, and all she could see was the sparks flaring from Amycus's wand when he threatened Ted. He may have been kind of dull, but she had no doubt he'd make good on his threats. So instead she cast her eyes to the floor, not caring that it looked weak. She just couldn't afford to look at Ted any longer.

She could still see him though, at least from the shoulders down, so she saw the way his shoulders slumped, and the light seemed to disappear from around him. She didn't keep staring at the floor, but she didn't look at him either, at least she tried not to. They passed the rest of the class like that, in this uncomfortable, still silence. It was probably only a few minutes before class ended, but it felt like hours. Professor Flitwick's ringing, "class dismissed!" was a voice from heaven. She needed to get out of there, right now. The day was only half over, and she already felt like collapsing from exhaustion. She grabbed her book and shoved it into her bag, but in the process, she knocked the quill off her desk and it rolled out of reach. She heaved a sigh, a part of her still wanted to leave, regardless, but that quill was special. It was one of the only gifts her father had given her.

She ambled around her desk, reaching down to pick it up, but someone else beat her too it. For the second time that day she found herself standing up to see Ted Tonks. She wasn't going to participate in any more of this awkward staring business; at least, she told herself she wasn't going to. 

He looked at her quill and whistled. "That's a fancy quill." She didn't wait for him to hand it to her, she was done. She snatched it from his fingers, ever so careful not to brush against his skin again. Ignoring his surprised gesture, she turned to walk away from him.

"Sorry, I threatened your friend."

Andromeda stopped. "Amycus isn't my friend." She probably shouldn't have said that, especially since Ted appeared at her shoulder a moment later, and when she walked out, he followed along beside her. She cringed but didn’t say anything. It was bad idea, but what was she supposed to do about it?

"Are you all right?" Ted's voice cut in again. "You seemed kind of distracted when we…ran into each other earlier."

Really? Andromeda mused; I wonder why that would be. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

No. "Quite sure, I was just…flabbergasted with homework and gathering my books and everything."

He clicked his tongue, she could tell he didn't believe her, but before she could say anything else to convince him, he said, "Flabbergasted?" She didn't miss the mocking tone in his voice.

"Flabbergasted," she said, "is a perfectly good word."

"Eh, I don't know, it makes me think of flobberworms."

"Flobberworms? The only similarities they have are the f and the b." Why she was continuing this bizarre conversation? She should stop, and get away from Ted. But he'd made fun of the way she spoke! She couldn't let him get away with that.

“It makes you sound like a prude.” 

“The opinion of someone whose own vocabulary is limited and coarse at best.” She kept thinking Ted was going to turn on her the way he had Amycus, but he still had that stupid smirk plastered all over his face. And her, what was she doing? Sure, he was irritating her, but was she really angry?

“Coarse and limited? Goodness, you sure know how to make a man feel insulted.” He emphasized this point by feigning a wound to his chest, but he still couldn’t stop himself from smirking.

“Words are a powerful instrument, Mr. Tonks, you should learn to wield them.” He made a face at her, and though she was blushing, she held her ground.   
Or she intended too. They'd reached the great hall, and people were staring at them and whispering. 

She automatically took a step back, away from Ted, but he wasn't where he'd been before. She looked over to see him walking away from the great all, towards the entrance hall. She knew she should just let him go, just let him walk away, but…

"Where are you going?"

He looked over at her, his expression unreadable. "The lake, I like to eat out there, it's peaceful."

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say.

He was silent for a moment. Then, "you want to come?"

His question surprised her, but then, it didn't. She allowed herself to think about it. It would be nice, not having to sit among her sisters' friends, knowing she didn't really belong. And she loved the lake…but like always, there wasn't really a choice, there was only one way.

"No, I can't."

His shoulders tightened, and he let his gaze drop. "Right."

And then he turned around and made his way out the door. She watched him go, and then made her way inside, ignoring the knot of disappointment in her chest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Andromeda find themselves once again forced together after they agree to help a favorite teacher.

Ted Tonks rolled out of his bed and stared at his clock…

It was 7:40…

He sat up straight. 7:40? He told Professor. Kettleburn he'd be down to help him at 7:30. Ten minutes ago.

He leapt out of bed, smacking his head on the frame as he did so. Cursing both his oversleeping and his sore head, he whipped off his night clothes and shrugged on an old ragged pair of jeans and a button up flannel shirt and whipped out the door toward the entrance hall. The hallways were practically deserted. It was a Saturday morning after all, which meant there were no awkward stares to follow him as he raced down the hallways, running like a horde of Inferi were after him.

Professor Kettleburn had recently suffered from a serious accident when he'd been helping some colleagues transport a manticore, and was having a difficult time getting everything ready for his classes. Of course, Ted had said yes when Professor Kettleburn had asked him to help, even when the Professor had asked him to be there at 7:30. In the morning. On a Saturday. 

He made his way outside, barely getting to enjoy the feeling of cool morning air on his skin as he raced toward the outdoor pavilion where Professor Kettleburn was standing.  
"Sorry Professor," he said, bending over and placing his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "I overslept."

"It's all right, Mr. Tonks," the professor said kindly, his eyes twinkling. Several parts of his arms were still wrapped in bandages, as was his entire left leg, a couple of sticks that seemed to be serving as crutches were propped under his arms.

"Thank you for coming, I appreciate it." To be honest, he probably could have arrived at noon and the Professor would have been just as forgiving. Not that he would abuse the Professor's kindness like that; he'd just been so distracted lately. And he knew exactly why.

Andromeda Black. He shouldn't be thinking about her. He had no business thinking about her, but he couldn't help it. Ever since that day in charms, it was like her name and face had been plastered to the inside of his eyelids, and every time he closed them there she was. He didn't know what to make of her. Sometimes she made him so angry, like when she blanched at his skin touching hers, or the way she refused to meet his eye or respond to him talking to her. But then he'd remember the fire that would spring up in her eyes when he'd called her a bigot and the way she seemed to cringe when he'd used the word mudblood. 

He'd known it was a bad idea to tell Jake to sit in Andromeda's spot, or partner with Susannah so Andromeda would be forced to partner with him, but he hadn't thought anything would come of it. And at first, he'd thought nothing had, but she'd talked to him. All the way towards the Great Hall, where most of her pureblood friends wouldn't have said a word to him because they'd be afraid he'd somehow pollute them with his muggleness. And yeah, it been more of a bicker, but he'd still found himself lying awake in his bed for days after, thinking about their conversation, mulling her words over in his head, remembering her eyes, the shape of her mouth…

"Professor. Kettleburn, where would you like me to set these?"

Oh no. He whirled around.

Andromeda stood behind him, a large crate in her hands, based on the way she froze, her mouth opening, she hadn’t known he would be here either. She glanced over him, taking in his disheveled appearance. Ted wasn't one to be self-conscious, but something about those eyes made him distinctly uncomfortable. He probably looked wild with his crumpled clothes and messy bed-head he hadn't bothered to comb. She, on the other hand, looked fantastic. She wasn't wearing her school robes, but robes that looked like they were made out of a dark brown, almost leather-like material. Made for the outdoors, but still impeccably expensive. Her skin didn't look quite so pale in the sun, but maybe that was because her long hair wasn't black, but rather a dark brown like rain-drenched wood, glistening in the sunlight, casting beautiful shadows of red and purple across her face.

"Oh, Ms. Black, I did mention I invited Mr. Tonks as well, did I not? Mr. Tonks, you know Ms. Black, yes?"

Not as well as you'd like to. "Yeah," Ted replied, telling the voice in his head to shut up, "we've met. She likes to drop things at my feet and steal my voice." Andromeda blushed furiously and busied herself with straightening the sticks in her arms.

If the professor noticed anything odd about their exchange he didn't let on. "Go ahead and set them down by those benches, my dear." He turned to Ted. "I've already explained everything I need to Ms. Black, so she'll be able to direct you." He gave Ted another soft smile before limping over to sit down in the shade of a nice tree.

Ted turned toward Andromeda. Well, here goes nothing. He walked up behind her.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or am I witnessing a historic event?"

Andromeda let out a tiny gasp, dropping the sticks. She turned around to look at him, breathing heavily.

"Not this though, dropping things in my presence does seem to be your defining feature."

She glared at him, before seeming to realize what she was doing and hastily looking away as she bent down to pick up the fallen sticks. Without thinking Ted bent down to help her. He couldn't help it, his mother had raised him to be a perfect gentleman, and he didn't want to even imagine the fit she'd have if she saw him stand there while a lady picked things up off the ground. Not that Andromeda was appreciative of his chivalry, she kept casting him side-long glances, like she expected him to pull out his wand and jinx her. He sighed.

They worked in silence for a while, until finally she said, "Mr. Tonks, what did you mean?"

"What?" Ted said, surprised that she speaking to him.

"I'm referring to your comment about the historic event." She was always so formal, even when no formality was called for. "What was your meaning?"

"Oh." He chuckled, remembering the brilliant comment he'd planned to say before she'd dropped the sticks. It seemed a little out of place now, but she had asked. "I meant that a Black was doing manual labor. Outdoors. In the dirt." He glanced sharply over at her to see that she was glaring at him, with narrowed eyes and inflamed cheeks. She opened her mouth, probably to give him haughty reply, but then snapped it shut, apparently thinking better. But Ted's curiosity was peaked.

"Now, now, they'll be none of that." He sat down, his back leaning against one of the benches. "Go on then, what were you going to say?" Her mouth twitched, but she gave no other sign she’d heard him. His eyes narrowed. She'd played the silent trick with him far too many times, and he wasn't going tolerate it anymore.

"So, I always imagined you Black girls as being perfectly balanced and coordinated. But based on the number of occasions I've observed you dropping things, I'm guessing you missed that boat. Or maybe you're finally touching back down on earth after years of walking above the rest of us." He grinned again, somehow enjoying himself. "Tell me, how does it feel to be back among your fellow mortals—."

"Ahh!" She made some sort of high-pitched grunt of frustration. Her hair whipped in front of her eyes as she turned to glare at him. "You are so—." She closed her eyes, clamping her mouth shut and looked away.

"So, what?" he prompted. She didn't answer, just stood up and stormed over to the other side of the pavilion. After a moment he followed.

"Andromeda wait," he said, catching up to her. She turned and looked him. For a moment he considered apologizing, but the words wouldn't come. "You're supposed to tell me what we're doing,” he said instead.

She stared at him for a moment, then sighed, giving in. "Come here."

Andromeda explained their tasks as concisely and tersely as was humanly possible, scarcely ever looking at him as she did so, but he supposed he should have expected that. They were mostly just moving things around, though there were a few animals they needed to relocate or feed. Some things they could move with magic, but others, such as the animals themselves, Professor Kettleburn had requested they not trust to the fate of a hovering spell. Some of these animals were quite large, So Ted offered to move them by himself. Even though it was early morning he soon broke into a sweat. Without thinking he slipped off the button up and shirt and let it fall beside him, so that he was just in his tank top. 

Andromeda breathed in sharply behind him. He glanced over at her to see that she was staring at him, or rather, the part of him below his head and above his legs. He blushed, feeling suddenly exposed. He was a slim person, but years of working summers on his family farm had given him a fair amount of muscle, he supposed.

"Umm…" he said, trying to regain Andromeda's attention, at least to his voice, "Is there anything else?" He tried not to let his mind dwell on her lingering stare, it was taking him to a place he really didn't want to go to, or rather he did, it was just...

"Ye-yes," she stammered, tearing her eyes away and blushing furiously again. She looked so cute when she did that, not that he was noticing. "I mean, of course there is, Mr. Tonks, follow me." He rolled his eyes at her return to formality. Or at least, he meant too, but he was still trying to puzzle through her reaction to him… taking his shirt off.

She reached the last of the crates. "We just have to feed to Bowtruckles." She grabbed a handful of woodlice and then knelt down beside them, after a moment, he followed suit. He was hyperaware of the proximity of their arms. Her sleeves covered down to her elbows, leaving her lower arm exposed. He lifted his hand to scatter some lice as well, and his wrist brushed against hers. He expected her to react as she had before. She did let out a tiny gasp, but her hand didn't jerk or convulse, instead remaining in place. He could tell she was fighting her impulse to do so, but at least she was trying.

"Andromeda?" he said before he lost his nerve. "Can I ask you something?"

She sighed. "I don't suppose there's anything I can do to stop you."

His mouth twitched. "Why are you here? I mean, why are you doing this?"

She was silent, then, "because Professor Kettleburn asked me too, and I enjoy Care of Magical Creatures."

"Really?"

"Is it a historic event that a Black actually enjoys the outdoors?" There was a certain bitter note in her voice, and her lips were pursed, but she seemed to be hiding a smile.  
Ted just shook his head, smirking slightly. "No, I mean yes, it’s just, you don't really seem like the outdoors type."

"Well, things are not always what they seem, but yes, I do, I mean, when I first took Care of Magical Creatures I was a little apprehensive, I'll admit, but there was something just so— breathtaking about them. Like you could understand exactly why they did the things they did, and yet they were still unpredictable…” she trailed off as her gaze drifted into the forbidden forest, eyes shining, but when she noticed him staring the light quickly faded from her eyes. "And what about you, Mr. Tonks?"

"Ted," he said, "no more of this, Mr. Tonks, you're making me feel old. And, uh, same, I suppose." There was no way he could top her description. He gave her a small, appreciative smile before returning to the Bowtruckles, but they had fed them all the wood lice.

"So, that's it then?" Ted said, standing up. She nodded, rising as well.

"Right then." He fiddled with his fingers. This was his cue to leave, but he didn’t want to listen to that cue. Andromeda, however, was already striding towards the castle, so fast he had to run to catch up to her. 

"Hey, Andromeda?"

She stopped, looking. "Yes?"

The question was there, on the tip of his tongue, he just needed to talk a deep breath and say it. "What were you going to say, really?"

She was silent again, and this time he thought for sure she wasn't going to answer. But her voice came, so soft he had to strain to hear it even though he was right next to her. "I was going to say, for someone who knows me so little you seem to know a lot about me." And then she turned away and continued walking.

Ted stared after her. He remembered all those things she done, or all the things she hadn't done, watching the Slytherins torment him and his classmates without lifting a finger. He'd assumed she was just like the rest of them, but had he ever given her a chance to be something else? And he thought about what she had just told him, about her love for Care of Magical Creatures, the wistful look in her eyes as she stared out across the pavilion to the forest, as though she could see something he couldn't.

"Wait." 

She stopped again, looking back over at him, her eyes wary.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You're right. I don't know a lot about you but I... but I'd like too." The voice in his head was gleefully reminded him that he'd had that same though earlier, only with a more perverse connotation, he did his best to ignore that voice. "May I walk you up to the castle?"

He expected the same answer he'd been given a week ago, but instead she said, "I suppose."

Ted stared at her in shock, not quite comprehending, but then her words sank in.

He ran to catch up with her again, before she could change her mind.


	4. chapter 4

"Andromeda!" Andromeda knew that voice. She sprang away from Ted, trying not to look sheepish as she met Narcissa's glance. Narcissa was staring at Ted with an odd expression, as though she couldn't decide if he were a slug she should squish or a shark about to ravage her.

"What are you doing?” she said again, speaking through clenched teeth as though this would somehow prevent Ted from hearing, which it didn't. He raised his eyebrows, before glancing over at Andromeda, but she didn’t dare return his glance.

They’d been discussing the time Amycus and Alecto Carrow had managed to attach their legs together while trying to perform a simple switching spell, and they couldn’t help but laugh, though how was she supposed to explain that to her sister?

Andromeda opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ted take a hesitant step backward. People surged in front of him, blocking him from her view. She wanted to turn, to see if he was still there, but she couldn't, not when her sister was looking at her as though her face had turned inside out.

"That was Ted Tonks, wasn't it?" she said, coming closer. Andromeda took a step back, startled.

"How did you...?" Narcissa had never met Ted, as far as she was aware. He was muggleborn, and a Hufflepuff so how had she—?

"He was the one Amycus was talking about," Narcissa said impatiently. "Last night in the common room. Weren't you listening?"

No, she wasn't, Andromeda rarely listened, not now when the evenings were drowned with her classmates’ rants about the muggleborn's who, 'didn't know their place.' Most of it was just the whines of people who had nothing better to do, but sometimes they discussed ways to get back at them, to teach them their place. The ways they could restore the 'old ways' when blood status was everything. Just remembering those words made her shiver.

"Amycus said the mudblood forced you to be his partner, and when Amycus tried to help you, he turned into a right little worm and threatened to hex Amycus." She sniffed. "Not that he could, smarmy little maggot."

Considering what Andromeda heard Amycus say when he thought no lady could hear him, her sister better be a bit careful over who she called, smarmy maggot.

"He said that you truly horrified to be partnered with— him— and I believe him. But this, Andromeda, what were you thinking?" It was clear that for Narcissa there was only one answer. Andromeda hadn't been thinking.

"It wasn't anything," Andromeda said. "I just had a question, about our charm's homework, and I figured he could answer it."

"Humph," her sister pouted, folding her arms across her chest, "Don't know why you'd want help with homework from a mudblood."

This was also a questionable statement, as Narcissa had only managed to get this far in her education by sweet-talking boys into doing her homework for her, and even then, she was barely scraping by.

"You're right." Andromeda placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "It was a mistake, and I promise I won't make it again. I've just, been a little bit stressed lately."

Her sister stared at her for a moment, and then her lips broke into a wide smile. Andromeda could help but smile as well. Despite her sister's faults, she would always be Andromeda's favorite. Narcissa could never hold a grudge, and Andromeda had no doubt her little mishap was not only forgiven, but completely forgotten.

"I have something you will cheer you up!" Based on her barely contained shriek, this must be the reason Narcissa originally sought her out. She pulled a piece of parchment out from inside her robes and handed it to Andromeda, who unfurled with a small, affectionate sigh, which quickly changed to a gasp.

"Can you believe it?" Her sister finally exploded. "We're going to have ball!"

A ball. That meant fancy dress robes, dancing, boys, and those torturous shoes.

"Right... yes, of course.” Though she was really stifling a groan.

"Andromeda." Narcissa looked suddenly sullen. “Can you at least pretend to be excited?"

"Your right,” she said, before realizing that didn’t make sense. "I mean, of course I'm... October 15th?" She squinted at the paper. "That’s still a month from now."

“Still? That scarcely gives me enough time to make all the preparations!” Her eyes bulged, but then she smiled as she lifted an imaginary fan to her face and dramatically batted her eyelids. “Though I shall die from waiting.” She cast Andromeda a sly grin. "But I can think of a certain someone that will delighted to escort his fiancé to the ball."  
Andromeda hadn't thought of that, but suddenly it hit her, like being smacked in the gut with a branch from the Whomping Willow tree. His face filled her mind, and suddenly her throat constricted, and her heart forgot how to breathe.

"And it’s a masquerade! Isn't that so romantic!" Her sister's eyes were brimming, like someone had light a bright green fire behind them, and her blue veins popped out of the side of her pale neck. 

Romantic was not the word Andromeda would have used. More like nightmare, but she couldn't spoil her sister's moment. "It's sounds breathtaking."  
"Oh!" Narcissa threw her arms around her sister's neck. "This is going to be so amazing." She pulled away, placing her hands firmly on her sister's shoulders. "I must be allowed to do your hair and cosmetics."

Andromeda smiled again, not completely fake this time. "I would never dream of letting anyone else."

Her sister threw her arms in the air and spun down the hallway. Then she stopped, looking back. "Aren't you coming to breakfast?"

"Oh, umm..." The last thing Andromeda felt right now was hunger. "I've actually got a lot to accomplish this morning."

"Very well.” The youngest Black sister gave her another smile and wave before turning and practically skipping down the hall.

Andromeda watched her until she disappeared, then turned around.

She'd known what she would find, but she still experienced a strange tightening and then sudden hollowness in her stomach at the sight of the empty space. What point had he slipped away? How much had he heard?

She didn't really have anything to accomplish, but now that she was at it; she might as well get at early start on her transfiguration homework…

"Where are you going?"

"The lake, I like to eat out there, it's peaceful."

She didn't stop to think about where the thought had come from, she didn't stop to think about what she was about to do, she just turned around and made her way towards the doors.

Ted didn't always come to the water, but he did come more often than not. There wasn't really a pattern to his visits; when he didn't feel like being around people he came out here. He definitely didn't feel like being around people right now, or at least, not some people.

He clasped his hands around his neck and let himself fall to the ground. What had he been thinking? No amount of small talk was ever to change things between him and Andromeda. She may not have been as snobby as the other Slytherins, but when push came to shove it was clear where she stood.

And suddenly her sister's disgusted, snarling face filled his mind. Well, really Ted? A voice seemed to shout, what the hell were you expecting?

Nothing. He'd expected nothing. He wasn't even sure why he cared so much. It's not like she was anything to him anyway. He was just being stupid. Stupid and thick and—

"Ted?"

He sat up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. He couldn’t believe it, but there she was. The sunlight creeping over her back, casting a warm honey glow over her skin, the wind gently catching her soft hair and fanning it out behind her, the way it did for the heroine moments before she was kissed by the hero in those romantic movies his mother used to watch.

Or at least that's how he saw her. In reality the wind was whipping her hair into her eyes and mouth, causing her to blink and sputter. Good to know she was mortal.  
She looked him over, her mouth pulled into a tight line and her gaze shifting back up to the castle, clearly wondering if this was a mistake, if she should leave.

"Who else?" He attempted to smile with his usually charisma, but she just stared at him, clearly not convinced.

"Come on, then," he said, his voice a little breathless as he patted the ground next to him, "have a seat."

And finally, she moved, taking a seat next to him, which would've been great except she looked like she was doing so against her will.

"So..."Ted said before that awkward silence could ensue. The sarcastic, teasing comment was on the tip of his tongue. Got lost on your way to the snakes? Forgot you hadn't called me a mudblood at least five times yet? Wanted to see if the rumors were true and mudbloods really do sprout horns when their alone? Wondering how the hell we can eat when our insides are secretly made of...

"Hungry?" He held out an apple. She stared at it with wide eyes like she expected it to sprout fangs and suck out her blood.

"Thank you, but no. I’m fine."

Ted had accepted girls were strange, but he would never be able to get over their seemingly universal lack of appetite. He was always hungry, and they never seemed to be enough to eat, ever. The Slytherin girls didn't even touch their food, as far as he noticed, not that he spent a lot of time looking at them, at least, most of them.

"Not hungry for school food, you mean," he said, trying to keep his mind from wandering too far, "but this isn't school food." He reached for his backpack, trying to open it without taking his eyes off Andromeda. He failed, on both counts, and when he finally got the bag open, his cheeks were a faint sunset color. "This is a specially crafted meal specifically for you, beyond anything you've ever had before." He grinned at her.

"Delicious, exotic fruit,” he said as he pulled out a small bag of grapes and a couple of oranges.

"Exquisite vegetables." He pulled out some celery and chopped carrots.

"Freshly baked, mouth-watering rolls." Out came some rolls that looked like they were a bit on the stale side.

"A most fine tuna salad," he took on a horrible, cheesy French accent, "to decorate the rolls." It was pretty weak, but Andromeda smiled appreciatively. Ted was mostly relieved that he still had her attention. The problem was, and he was running out of ways to keep it.

"And uhh... we got, uhh... sausages and... mashed potatoes?" He didn't remember the mashed potatoes; the house elves must have slipped it in when he wasn't looking.

He glanced over at her. "Ahh, yes, to provide a varied and unique experience, scrumptious sausages and err, luscious mash potatoes."

He scrambled to arrange everything neatly in front of time.

"A most fine feast, in honor of the great, ravishing, Lady Andromeda Black." And then he bowed, as much as a person sitting down could.

But it worked. She laughed, or giggled, the most beautiful giggle his had ever heard. Ever. It was like the soft low murmur of a bubbling stream. He felt something flutter through him, a brief hollowness in his stomach, like he would do anything to hear that laugh again. Or maybe his hunger was keeping him from thinking straight.

"Still not hungry?" he asked.

She smiled, eyes dancing. "Perhaps I can be persuaded."

He returned her look. "Then dig in."

He had hoped they would've been past this, but as they began to eat, they lapsed back into the uncomfortable silence. He couldn't take it.

"All right." He slammed his spoon on the ground. She looked up, startled.

"I propose a game."

"A game?" she repeated, doubting she'd heard him right.

"Yes, an ice-breaking game."

Her brows furrowed. "I don't—"

"I'm tired of all this, uncomfortable not speaking. It's getting really irritating."

She looked taken back, she opened her mouth to say something, but now that he had started he couldn't stop.

"You see, I figure when actually get talking, we do just fine, but we still don't know what to say to each other so it... dies out, I guess. And I think it's just because we don't really know each other, and what we do know about each other is based in biases and stereotypes which prevents us from really getting to know each other." He ignored the voice in his head that said, and I really want to get to know you.

"And this is all keeping us from connecting and having an actual conversation that, you know really means something. So in order to overcome it we need to learn more about each other, and find what we have in common." He exhaled, having said most of this in one breath.

Andromeda stared at him like he had just started spewing another language. He blushed. God, he must look like such an idiot. He certainly felt like one. She really wasn't going to like him now, but what was he supposed to do? It'd already been said.

"Right." He cleared his throat. "I'll start."

"Ted,” she asked, "shouldn't you tell me what game we're playing first?"

"Err... right," he blushed again, ducking his head. "It's called the uh, favorites' game."

"The… favorite's game?" she repeated, sounding almost scared.

She wasn't making this easy. "Yes, you ask them about something that's their favorite and they answer, and then you answer, and, and that's the game," he finished, flushing.

"I see." She frowned, but otherwise remained expressionless.

Ted bit his lip, "Right, I'll start." What the hell did he want to know about her? Well, obviously there were a lot of things he'd like to ask her but...

"Color?" he asked, surprising himself.

She thought for a moment. "Blue?"

"Blue?" he repeated, he couldn't help it. "Not green? Not very loyal, are you?"

"I thought," she said, her jaw tightening, "that the purpose of this— game—was to forgo these kinds of stereotypes.”

Right," he said, trying to hide his pleasure at her response. "My apologies, I'll stop."

She almost smiled. "And you?"

"And me what?"

Her almost-smile came even closer to an actual smile, "What's your favorite color?"

"Oh uhh..." he'd never really thought about his favorite color, so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "Blue."

And her smile finally became an actual smile.

"Favorite animal?" he asked, mostly to keep himself from staring.

She thought about it again. "A horse."

"Really? Have you ever ridden one?"

"No," she said, "but, I'd like to."

And so they continued, they went through favorite animal, favorite subject, (Their answers were the same, care of Magical creatures) favorite food, favorite quidditch team (Andromeda didn't have one, which Ted pointed out was strange because he did and he was the muggleborn, and Andromeda pointed out that was another stereotype), and favorite Bertie Bott's every flavor bean flavor (Ted liked Lemon, while Andromeda favored cinnamon).

They had reached, "favorite kind of shoe" and were the debating the value of dragon leather when Andromeda finally stood up.

"I'm sorry, this has been—pleasant— but I have a plethora of homework to finish over the weekend."

Ted couldn't help it. "Plethora?" he teased. She glared at him but didn’t say anything. "Right, well," he stood up as well, running a hand through his hair. "I'll see you around then?" he hadn't meant for it to come out as a question, but it had, an embarrassingly desperate one.

She stared at him for a moment too long, then said, "Yes of course." He smiled, and she did the same. The smile was still on her face when she looked back at him over her shoulder as she walked away. He waited until she disappeared, then a wide grin spread across his face as his fist shot into the air, victorious.


	5. chapter 5

"Seriously, for every meal?" Ted asked.

"Well, not every time, just when we have guests over, which is most of the time."

"Huh." Ted leaned over, seemingly examining her side. He had a sort of twisted, contemplated look on his face, the same look he got whenever Professor McGonagall went over advanced theories in transfiguration. Not that she'd been looking. "If you have an eight-course meal that many times a week, how are you still this thin?"

She threw a roll at his face, which he blocked his arm, and then grinned. It’d had been a week since their first meeting, and they’d met three times since then. 

“I could say the same about you, you know.” She glanced over at his now empty-plate, which had been overflowing with food moments before.

He grinned. “You could.” She stared at him for a moment longer, before hastily looking away.

“So, Andromeda…” he said after a pause.

“Meda, Please.” She smiled, and he returned it.

“Right. Meda, you know who you look like?” 

“No?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Audrey Hepburn.”

She blinked. “Who?” Where was he going with this?

“She’s this actress, or singer. You know, for muggles I only know who she is because my mom adores, ‘My fair lady.’ She used to make me watch it all the time.” His words started to rush. “Not that you’re anything like Eliza. Well, maybe a little, after she… I mean, you look like her, except she wears her hair up, like…” He reached for her, and she froze. His hand brushes across her cheek as he started to pull her hair up.

She flinched, and Ted quickly pulled his hand away, his jaw dropping.

“Sorry, I don’t know why…” He turned crimson, and quickly buried his hand in his hair, like that would keep him from reaching out to her again.

Another silence ensued, only this time, Ted didn’t try to break it.

She finished her food, which meant she had no reason to stay. But as tense as things were she didn’t want to leave just yet. She reached into a bag and pulled a brush, but stopped when she caught sight of his expression.

“What?” She sounded more defensive than she meant too.

“It’s just… you’re constantly fixing your hair.”

“Well, it’s constantly getting messed up.” 

He flinched, and even though she hadn’t been thinking of him when she said it, she flushed.

“Don’t you’re being a little obsessive?” he asked.

"You think I'm obsessed?” She laughed, trying to ease the mood. “You should see Narcissa; it takes her over an hour to get ready most mornings."

"Huh." He said that a lot. "I would've thought both your sisters would've been like that."

Andromeda's eyes narrowed. "Like what?"

Ted seemed to realize he was treading dangerous waters, but he wasn't one to stop once he started. 

"You know what I'm talking about. I'm surprised they can see where they're going with their noses sticking up like that. They’re the queens of prudes. They act like they’re superior to everyone else they meet. And not just muggleborns, everyone. Although they make it clear that the muggleborns are slugs while they're goddesses walking on earth, or something."

Andromeda shot him a sharp glance. "Excuse me?"

He returned her hard stare. "You know it's true."

Her jaw clenched. "That's not the issue, Mr. Tonks. I won't tolerate my family be spoken about in such a manner. Do you understand me?"

His mouth twitched, and his eyes narrowed, he looked like he was about to retort, but he just shook his head and looked away. "Fine."

A tense silence followed. She wondered if she should leave. If she made him angry. Maybe he even wanted her to leave. She returned her brush to her bag and shifted her weight, preparing to stand.

"So, do you want to hear about the time I mistook a raccoon dog for the angry spirit of a medieval criminal who'd been drawn and quartered?"

Andromeda couldn't help it; she smiled. "Of course."

After Ted had mentioned her sisters and Andromeda had semi-exploded at him, she'd thought their meal and possibly even their whole friendship was ruined, but once again she'd underestimated him. By the time they parted they were laughing hysterically and grinning at each other. That was one thing she liked about Ted. His brightness was infectious. He never seemed to stay down or angry, and you couldn't either while you were with him. 

However, from that day on there'd been an understanding between them, Andromeda's family was not open for discussion, ever. But it was more than that really. Whenever they talked their seemed to be a branch of conversation that remained untouched between them, questions neither of them dared ask, probably because they didn't want to know the answer. There were moments where Andromeda could feel those questions creeping up on them, but Ted usually knew how to derail them with a story or joke. She wasn't quite sure why it was this way, maybe it was because neither of them wanted to end up angry at the other again. But it felt like something else. Maybe somewhere, they knew there was something forbidden about what they were doing. Some rule that said this wasn't allowed. And to bring it up was too acknowledge it, but if they didn't mention it they could go on pretending it wasn't there. 

Ted also didn’t try to touch her again, but she could see the way he always made sure his hands were busy when she’s was around, though she tried not to think too much about it.

"Andromeda!" She'd turned. She’d been so caught up in thoughts of Ted Tonks she expected to see him. But it wasn’t Ted. It was her fiancé. 

She hadn't seen much of Rabastan since their engagement was announced, though he made a point of catching her eye in the common room and the halls. 

"I'm glad I caught you before you had a chance to sneak away again." He smirked at her. Hopefuly he'd been talking to her sisters, and was referring to her frequent trips to the 'library,’ and not to her other endeavors. "Will you walk with me?" 

She hesitated. She'd been on her way to meet Ted. He'd promised if she came today he'd explain to her how telephones worked, something she'd always been curious about. But something in Rabastan's voice told her this excursion wasn't optional, so she followed him.

He took her outside. He seemed to be angling for the lake, but she steered him toward the Forbidden Forest.

"How have you been? I trust you're keeping up with your studies?"

"Of course." She matched his polite tone. "And you? How is your seventh year treating you?"

"Not well," he chuckled. "The amount of homework they lay on us is insufferable, and we can't all be perfect little student like you." He winked. "And with the way the teachers are always talking, you'd think our exams were next week, and not in seven months."

"I see." She wasn't quite sure how to broach the next question, but she felt it must be asked. "But you didn't bring me out here to discuss school, did you?"

"No, you're right." He looked uncomfortable now. "I wanted to apologize for being such an inattentive fiancé."

She wasn't quite sure she wanted to discuss this, but there didn't seem to be a way out of it.

"I've just been so busy with school, and in truth I'm having trouble adjusting to the idea of being married."

Andromeda stopped walking. "Oh, I see."

Rabastan seem to realize his mistake. He stopped as well, turning to look at her. "Wait, that's not what I meant. It's not you." He took a step toward her, closing the distance between them. "You are one of the most beautiful, sophisticated, stunning girls I've ever met, and I've met a lot of girls," he attempted another joke. "So it's not that I don't want to marry you, it's just a lot to get my head around."

His words seem to echo her sentiments exactly. “It’s all right.” She took a deep breath, "I understand you completely."

He half-smiled, then he lifted his arm and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. He left it there, and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "I want to get to know you Andromeda, away from the formality of our family gatherings." He paused, and then said, "are you going to the dance?"

She opened her eyes. "Yes."

He leaned in, brushing his lips across her cheek. "Save a dance for me, okay?"

He didn’t wait for her to response, though he must have considered the redness in her cheeks to be a positive sign, as he walked away smiling.


	6. chapter 6

“Are you joking me!” Ted’s friend, Lorie, shouted as James Potter ducked under yet another bludger to score yet another point for Gryffindor. “How could you have missed him?”  
“Are you cheering for Slytherin?” Ted asked, eyebrows raised.

Lorie blushed. “No.” But as both Ted and his other friend, Jake, glared at her, she threw her hands up in the air, her silver-blond hair whipping up. “Fine, but just because I’m tired of Gryffindor winning all the time.”

Ted was pretty sure that wasn’t the reason. He was pretty sure it had to do with the Slytherin chaser and team captain being Lorie’s obsession. He looked over to his other friend, Liv, to confirm this. She just rolled her eyes. Despite their convenient nicknames, Liv and Lorie, Olivia looked nothing like Lorie with her brown skin, curly black hair, and hazel eyes.

“Though those Gryffindor boys do have amazing hair.” Lorie sighed. Ted glanced at them again. How could she even tell? Everyone’s hair looked the same from this distance.

“Mmm… Especially Sirius Black.” Olivia said, but Ted could say she was mostly saying it to anger him. That was one of the perks of being someone’s ex. You always knew what got under their skin, and you weren’t afraid to bring it up. Just like he knew he could bring up the word flesh, and she’d start shuddering.

Except he didn’t feel like as he sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching the players zoom around the quidditch pitch without really processing what any of them we’re doing. He hated watching quidditch— it made him want to play too much— and he wasn’t really invested in the outcome of this match. Sure, he hated the Gryffindors much less than the Slytherins since they weren’t a bunch of pompous scumbags who went around tormenting muggleborns, but both teams had a habit of squashing his own team and then getting a really big head about it.

His gaze drifted over the match to the student sections, particular the Slytherin section. It was nigh impossible trying to pick Andromeda among the sea of green, and he shouldn’t be trying to anyway. Nor should he be thinking about her. He still wasn’t sure exactly what was happening with them. Sure, they met up for meals by the lake. And sure, she didn’t treat him like he was mud of her boots, but she still refused to acknowledge him when anyone else was around. And a few days ago she’d freaked out when he’d touched her skin. Granted, that had been a really stupid move on his part. He still wasn’t sure why he’d done it.

He stopped, squinting his eyes and he peered at the Slytherin stands. A student was getting up and leaving, a student that had long, glistening brown like Andromeda’s. Was it Andromeda? Where was she going? 

She disappeared behind the stands, but Ted couldn’t stop staring where she’d been. He might not get another opportunity like this, but if he didn’t hurry…  
He stood up.

“Where are you going?” Liv asked.

He began to edge his way past the other students, most of whom gave his disgruntled looks as he pushed past them.

“The Loo,” he shouted to Liv over his shoulder, but he didn’t stay to make sure she’d heard before he broke free of the last person and made it to the steps that led out of the stands. He barely noticed where his feet were going as he raced toward the castle. He stopped as soon as he passed the Whomping Willow. He glanced over at the lake, but there was no one there. The path leading up to the castle was empty. Had she already made it inside? He was just about to start forward when something moved out of the corner of his eye.

Andromeda was heading toward the forbidden forest. He raised his eyebrows? She was skipping out on a quidditch match to go somewhere banned? Maybe it wasn’t Andromeda after all, but he’d come this far, he might as well check.

The closer he got, the more it looked like her, until he was almost certain. Forcing away his incredulity, he reached for her shoulder. “Hey, Andr—“

The moment his fingers touched her robe she whipped around, eyes wide.

“What are you doing?” she hissed through her teeth, even though no one was around to hear them.

“Actually,” he reached his hand behind his head to hide his disappointment that she’d gotten into a tizzy because he scarcely touched her again, “I came to ask you the same question.”

“What if someone sees?” she hissed again, backing away from them.

“Everyone’s at the match,” he said. He wasn’t even sure why he was arguing with her, it just seemed that after he’d done through all this effort, he might as well make it worth his while. Yeah, that was it.

She let out a long breath. “It’s still not a good idea.”

He perked up. That wasn’t a no, per say, and she wasn’t demanding that leave, so as she turned to go, he fell in step behind her.

“So,” he said, “what entices the great and noble and Andromeda Black to go traipsing through the forbidden forest. Emphasis on the word, forbidden, as in, against school rules.”

Andromeda flushed, but stayed silent. Apparently letting him tag along did not mean she was going to speak to him.

“I’m not going in very far,” she said finally, surprising him. “Just to the pavilion.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the brave adventure he’d imagined where he and Andromeda stood back to back, fighting off giant spiders, but they’d still be together, alone, in the forbidden forest.

He shook his head. His wild imagination was getting the best of him again.

“Are you going to the dance?” he asked, breaking the silence.

She glanced at him, her gaze almost hostile. “What?”

“The dance,” he said, shrugging, like he hadn’t abruptly changed the topic. “Are you going to it?”

But her gaze was no less hostile as she said, “Why?”

He glanced at the ground to hide his blush. “Just asking.”

It’s not like it really mattered on way or another. They’d have a hard time even finding each other wearing masks in the crowded entrance hall, not to mention the crowds, which would prevent them from being able to interact with each other in case someone recognized them, but the idea of her being there made him dread it just a little less. Curse Lorie and Liv playing the friendship card and dragging him along.

True to her word, she stopped just outside the pavilion, right next to a cluster of bushes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pouch, and dipped her fingers into it. They came out covered with some soft, yellow powder.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Pollen,” she said as she knelt down next to the bush. She extended her fingers out and froze, the only movement the steady rise and fall of her chest. He waited, but nothing happened.

“What are you—“

“Shh,” she interrupted, still not moving.

He was about to ask again when the bushes rustled, and then slowly, something crawled out from under. It was a small creature, about the size of quaffle, covered in silky, brown fur; with large-blue eyes that peered at them curiously. It shuffled forward, its legs seemingly hidden underneath is fluff. It sniffed her hand, hesitantly at first, and then more eagerly. The next moment its long pink tongue began to lick the pollen off her fingers.

“A puffskein,” Ted said. The only place he’d seen those was in a shop in Daigon Alley. “How did you know they were here?”

“Professor Kettleburn told me.” She looked at Ted and smiled, holding up the bag. “Would you like to try?”

He took the bag and dipped his fingers in the soft powder before crouching down next to Andromeda. He half-expected her to cringe at his sudden proximity, but she didn’t move. Ignoring the lightness in his chest, he held his fingers out. A moment later another puffskein emerged from under the bush.

It tickled as it licked his fingers, but Ted was used to animals. As soon as it finished eating the powder he slid his hand under its chin, gently scratching the soft fur. The Puffskein lazily closed its eyes, emitting a soft humming sound.

“I think he likes you,” Andromeda said.

“All animals like me.” He shrugged. Upon seeing Andromeda curious expression he added, “I grew up on a farm.”

“You’re a farmer?” She asked.

“Technically I’m a magician,” he said, bracingly, but she didn’t seem to be listening. 

She gently stroked her puffskein as she sighed. “My sister’s allergic to most animals, so we never kept any, but I always wanted too.” She looked over at him. “What’s it like on a farm?”

“Smelly.” He grinned, and she chuckled. “No it’s nice, a lot of work though, but there’s something immensely satisfying about knowing you created something, you know?”

“I can imagine,” she whispered. She was still looking at him. It seemed they’d drawn closer without either of them noticing. Andromeda smelled nice, like warm cinnamon rolls. Somehow, he’d never noticed that before. 

She was still looking at him, their faces somehow even closer than before. His gaze drifted from her eyes to her lips. Her red, full lips. He leaned in, his eyes closing…

And then a loud, crude voice cut through the silence.

Both he and Andromeda sat up so suddenly, they scared their puffskiens, who returned, trembling, to their undergrowth home.

Another voice said something, and others laughed. There were several people, and they were coming this way.

“Go.” Andromeda hisses, motioning with her hands. He did what she said, without really registering that he was doing so. A large oak tree seemed like the most obvious hiding place. He’d barely dived behind it when the boys came into the clearing.

It was a good thing he’d moved, as he recognized those boys. They were all Slytherins, but not any of the ones good enough to make it on the team. Still, he recognized Amycus Carrow right away, as well as two boys whose last names he was pretty sure were Yaxley and Macnair. There was another boy with them too, one Ted didn’t know as well. Was Snape his name?

“Hey there, doll!” Amycus proclaimed loudly, while his mates sniggered. Andromeda turned around, and their smug looks disappeared.

Amycus cleared his throat and straightened his spine, like that would somehow erase his earlier word. “Andromeda, what are you doing out here by yourself?”

Andromeda dodged the question, smiling politely. “Did we win the match?”

The broad smile slipped off Amycus’s features. “It’s impossible to play a fair game against those cheating, Gryffindor scoundrels, but we’ll prevail next time, I’m sure.”

Ted snorted, and then clapped his hand over his mouth, but no one seem to notice.

“Would you like us to escort you back up to the castle?” Amycus offered his arm to her, his horrible grin back in place. “Who knows what could befall a lady such as yourself in a wood where werewolves and mudbloods run amok.”

Andromeda smiled, somehow able to keep her thoughts on Amycus’s statement to herself. He was going to have ask her how she did that sometime, assuming she really was offended that Amycus had put werewolves and mudbloods in the same context.

“Besides,” Yaxley added, “I think Rabastan was looking for you.”

A bitter taste rose in Ted’s mouth as he strained to get a better look at Andromeda. Why was that spoiled, pretty-boy looking for her? Andromeda blushed slightly, which only made Ted feel worse as she took Amycus’s arm and headed up the path.

He didn’t know why he was still watching, but he was. It’s not like he could come out until they were gone. Just before they reached the edge of the trees Andromeda looked back. She didn’t know exactly where he’d hidden, but her eyes brushed over his heading place anyway. His pulse quickened, and continued to beat heavily as she turned back around.


	7. chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meda hopes to enjoy a quiet day by the lake, but the marauders, her fiance, and Ted Tonks make sure her day is anything but quiet.

Andromeda tucked her hair behind her ear as she puzzled over the last question on her transfiguration homework. It was a bright, beautiful day, but even the fresh breeze could only do so much for her sore, over-worked brain. It’s like the more she studied, the more her brain grew until it was pushing at the sides of her skull. But of course, that was ridiculous. 

Still though, it was better to have a stuffed brain outdoors than a stuffed brain indoors, even if she was more likely to run into Rabastan out here.

"Hey Andromeda!" She looked up, half-annoyed, half-amused. She had wanted to avoid interaction with anyone, but she could never say no to Sirius. "There's my favorite cousin, how have you been?" He came up and plopped on the ground next to her, making himself comfortable. Apparently, he intended to stay for a while. She looked to see his entourage of friends bringing up the rear. She shouldn't have to look though, they rarely went anywhere without each other. They stopped a few feet behind their friend. Remus Lupin smiled and gave her a friendly wave, while the other, James Potter, merely folded his arms across his chest and gave her a brisk nod. He'd never much liked her. He was a staunch hater of all Slytherins and this included Andromeda, but out of respect for Sirius he never said anything to her. And there was Peter Pettigrew cowering behind him, looking at Andromeda with wide, fearful eyes. That was encouraging.

She smiled politely at Sirius's question, "All right, how about—"

"Is it true?" he interrupted.

She blinked, derailed. "Is what true?"

"That you're considering pulling a Sirius and abandoning the Black Bandwagon?"

Andromeda's eyes widened, and she blushed a deep red, "No! I'm… who told you that?"

"Narcissa."

The book slipped out of Andromeda's fingers. "She said that?"

Sirius smirked. "Well no, not really, she just said she was concerned because she found you talking to a muggleborn. She was discussing it very loudly from the bathroom. Which I know not because I was in the girls' bathroom, but outside it, installing a very persistent pair of nifflers…"

"A muggleborn?" His friend Potter interrupted, walking closer and glancing at Andromeda with lidded eyes.

"Yeah, Ted Tonks, you remember Ted Tonks, right?" Sirius said.

Potter cast her another furtive glance, before returning to Sirius, his mind whirring. "Doesn't he play quidditch or something?"

"Yeah, for Hufflepuff, he's their chaser, and a sixth year, like our dear Andromeda."

But Potter didn't care about any of this. "And you were talking to him?" The disbelief in his voice was almost condescending. He was clearly expecting an answer, as was Sirius.

Andromeda wasn't getting out of this one, much as she might want to. She sighed, closing the book in front of her, and resignedly explained, "Professor Kettleburn asked the two of us to help him prepare something, and afterwards I… I had a question about our charms homework."

"You had a question about homework?" Sirius snorted.

"And you decided to ask the mudblood? " Potter cut in. "Aren't they just stupid scum who don't know anything about magic anyway?"

Andromeda felt another rush of heat wash over her. Ted used to say similar things, but there was something about the way that Potter said it that drove her over the edge.  
"You know who you sound like?" she said.

His eyebrows knitted, confused. "No?"

She glared at him, struggling to keep the venom out of her voice. "Narcissa."

"Narcissa?" he repeated, "as in—"

"As in my sister," she finished, almost smiling. "Narcissa Black."

James potter took an involuntary step back, nostrils flaring. "You're saying I'm a—"

"I'm saying you would've made a great Black if things had worked out a little differently."

His jaw twitched, and the barriers that kept his hatred up came crashing down. "You dare say that to me?" he snarled, stalking towards her, " you little—"

Lupin darted forward and grabbed Potter's arm. "Easy James." he placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Did you hear what she said about me?"

"Yeah," he said, fighting a grin. "And you deserved it. You’re being a jackass.”

"Don't be so quick to defend her, Remus," Sirius cut in, laughing. He clearly found Potter's and Andromeda's conversation amusing. "Andromeda can take of herself. Did I ever tell you guys about what she did to me when I threatened to set her Shakespeare collection on fire? She freakin' set my hair on fire."

"Really?" Pettigrew finally spoke, his voice sounding squeakier and mousier than Andromeda thought possible.

"Yep, that's our Andromeda, the little spitfire."

Andromeda wasn't sure what she was doing, but the next second, she was slamming her book into her bag, swinging her bag over her shoulder, and storming off toward the castle.

"Hey Wait! Andromeda, don't get all hot under the collar, I was only joking." Sirius shouted after her.

She turned. "I'm not really in a joking mood right now.”

He held up his hands. "All right. Jeez, what's got you so uptight?"

She opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say. She closed it and stared at the ground in front of her, swallowing. "Nothing, I'm just… stressed, that's all."

"Because of the engagement?"

His words hit her like a slap, and she stiffened, her eyes narrowing, but it was too late. The damage was done.

"Engagement?" Potter said, like he was sure he'd heard it wrong, and then he looked over at her. His face was contorted and pinched, like he'd just smelled something awful. "You're getting married?"

"Married?" Pettigrew said, sounding almost afraid of the word.  
"Yep," Sirius answered, his eyes never leaving Andromeda's face. "To Rabastan Lestrange, of all people."

"Why the hell would you want to marry him?" Potter said, disgusted.

"He's very handsome?" Lupin said from behind them.

Potter turned toward him. "You think he's handsome, Moony?" His lip was still curled, but his usual overconfident smile was back in place. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"You ask why somebody would want to marry him." He gave his friend an almost reproving look. "And in our modern society that's a very applicable answer."

"Right," Potter said, returning to Andromeda, his eyes gleaming. "So is that it, Andromeda? Is that why you want get in bed with—"

"Don't be a prat." Sirius cut him off. "It's arranged. Isn't it, Meda?"

"Arranged?" Potter said, he had apparently decided he found this topic amusing, not disgusting. "You guys still do that?"

Andromeda suddenly had the urge to throw her book at his head, or give him tentacles on his face, but instead she said. "Yes, Mr. Potter, we do. Us and barbaric ways.”

He held up his hand, warding off her hostility. “Aren’t you too young?”

“They’re going to wait until I finish school.” Why was she even answering his questions? She whirled on Sirius. "How do you know about this?" 

He gave her a pretend haughty look. "I'm a seer. I just know this stuff."

Potter snorted.

"Alright fine, I got it from Regulus, but I technically beat it out of him so that counts for something." He caught potter's eye, who winked at him.

Andromeda had had enough of this. "Wonderful," she muttered, hoisting her bag over her shoulder and turning again towards the castle.

"Wait," Sirius’s voice had finally lost most of its casual air. "Come on. Don't be like this." He caught her shoulder and whirled her around. "Look, I'm worried about you. How are you handling this whole ordeal? Is there…" his hand slipped off her shoulder, "is there anything I can do?"

Andromeda had never seen him like this. So serious (okay yes, his name was Sirius, but he never acted like it), caring? Caring wasn't the word. He's always been nice he just wasn't really, forward about it. Concerned? Empathetic? She didn't know, but whatever it was it caught her completely off guard.

"I… thank you," she said, meaning it, "but there's not anything to be done."

"Oh?" his charisma returned. "Not so, we could transform Rebastard into a slug, which would make a wedding difficult."

"I'd be game for that," Potter said, coming up behind Sirius and giving Andromeda an almost smile. It was probably the nicest thing he'd ever said to her.

"Thank you, but I'll pass. They’d probably make me marry him anyway."

"Damn, I knew I'd forgotten something." Sirius grinned at her out of a lopsided mouth. "But seriously, are you all right? Because this, well, this is pretty big."

"I—"Something had caught Andromeda's eye from across the field. Someone with blond hair was making their way along the bank, someone that looked like... Ted. It had to be, she recognized his gangly walk. He sat down, in their spot, alone, even though there were groups of people milling around, enjoying this uncharacteristically warm day before winter set in. 

Her chest tightened. Ted wasn't often alone. He was usually surrounded by at least one of his friends, and every now and then she caught him in a bigger group. But not now. He was staring at the ground, so she couldn't see his face, but she could see that he was pulling up grass around him, like he always did when he was frustrated. 

They never spoke to each other when others were around. They scarcely even looked at each other. But she’d never seen him look so dejected before? Was something wrong?

"Andromeda?" Sirius said.

She sighed. She shouldn’t go talk to him, but she was worried about him. Maybe she could arrange a meeting when less people would be around.

"I—"she fumbled, "I'm sorry, I have to go." And she took off.

"Go? Now? Wait? What? All right.” He accepted her decision quickly. “Hey Andromeda?" Apparently, she couldn't not turn when people called her name, because she did.  
"They don't own you, all right? Just remember that."

His words stopped her, but there was no time to think about them. She had to do this, before she lost her nerve. 

Ted didn't see her at first. Not until she was a few feet away. Somebody brushed past her, knocking into her shoulder.

'"Pardon me," Andromeda said, even though it was their fault, but whoever it was clearly wasn't paying attention to anything, not even her apology. She'd spoken softly, but Ted looked up, startled. They stood frozen, and then Ted slowly stood up. Andromeda didn't stop to think about what she was doing, she just walked forward. He didn't smile the way he usually did when he saw her, yet there was something about his eyes that drew her in. She stopped when she was a few feet from him, just close enough to touch. 

"Ted, I—"

"Andromeda!" The next second Rabastan had grabbed her by the arm and had wheeled her around to face him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ted turn away as well. She prayed that Rabastan hadn't seen her speaking to him, wouldn't even notice he was there. It was an easy wish. Rabastan generally only noticed himself.

"Is disappearing off the face of the planet a habit of yours?" His hand slid up her arm. "Because you do it brilliantly."

"I've just been busy studying," Andromeda said, Rabastan had reached her shoulder and gripped it firmly, sending shivers down her spine and making it difficult to breath.

"That's not what Narcissa said; she said you were hiding out in your dorm room all day," Rabastan continued. It seemed he could tell what affect his touch was having on her, as he moved his hand to her should blade, pulling her in closer.

"Are you avoiding me, Andromeda? Because it sure seems like it."

A few people snickered. Rabastan was surrounded by his usual gang of boys. His brother, obviously, as well as Lucius Malfoy and Lester Yaxley, who were both leering down at her. Behind them stood Antonin Dolohov, who looked bored. Evan Rosier was also a usual member, but Andromeda could guess why he was absent.

She went red. "I'm not, I just…" she realized what she needed to do, she pulled out a breathless tone. "I can't think clearly around you, Bastan, and I needed some time to clear my head." That got the reaction she wanted. He grinned as his hands moved down her back, toward her waist. She pulled her hands out of the way, so he wouldn't notice what she was holding.

"So, did you need something?" she said, mostly because his hands were continuing to drop, and that was making her uncomfortable.

"Do I need a reason to see you?” She gave him a stern look, at least as stern as she could muster.

He glanced around his friends, like he was looking for a confirmation of some sort. They nodded at him, smirking. He returned to her.

“I just… there’s something I wanted to do, before the dance tomorrow.”

She shivered at his words, but she didn't have time to prepare herself, as the next moment his lips we on hers.

Andromeda couldn't help it, she gasped. His lips were like honey, soft and tantalizing. His hand slipped passed her cheek and down her neck, forcing her to arch up into him, his other hand pressed her hips firmly against him and then dragged up her body, aligning it with his. She forgot her reservations; she forgot her fear of him. All she knew is that she would do anything, anything to be kissed like this again.

And then something hit her sharply from the side, and she stumbled, falling out of Rabastan's grasp. Someone had knocked into her, someone with long, shaggy blond hair. Ted. She stared at him before the reality of the situation washed over her. She tried to catch his eye, but he wasn’t looking at her, his eyes focused on Rabastan.

"Sorry," he said, his voice tense.

"Sorry?" Rabastan repeated, chuckling darkly. "You'd better be sorry, mudblood."

Ted's brow darkened, but he chuckled as well. "Is that how you talk in front of your girlfriend?"

Oh no. Andromeda thought, oh no. It was one thing to get entangled with Amycus, he was too stupid to fight back. But Andromeda had seen these guys in action, and she knew exactly what they were capable of.

"Tonks, isn't it?" Rabastan continued, while Andromeda felt the rest of the Slytherins coming up behind them, forming a sort of semi-circle around the three of them. "Your smart-ass reputation precedes you."

"Rabastan," Ted acknowledged. "Your bastard ways precede you."

He was dead.

She felt a few of the boys’ hiss behind her, and she shot a glance at Ted, hoping he would notice her, and stop this.

Rabastan stepped around her. "I hear you have a habit of sticking your mudblood noise where it doesn't belong."

"And I hear you have a habit of sleeping with more than one girl at a time. Is it true you're once got three of them in the same bed?" He looked at Andromeda as he said this, and she realized what he was implying. Her face burned. She stopped worrying about protecting him, and instead focused on not killing him herself.

"Why, are you jealous, little mudblood? Bet the only girls you get are those smarmy little muggles, can't be very satisfying can it? But then, I supposed you are a muggle so what's the difference—"

Lucius and Dolohov were pulling their wands. She needed to act before this got out of hand. She sprang forward, placing herself firmly between Ted and Rabastan and forcing them to back away.

"That's enough." She briefly glanced between the two of them before turning toward Rabastan. "Look, just let it go, all right? This isn't worth wasting your time. And look at me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling warmly, "I'm fine, so just drop it." That might've been enough, but just in case she added, "don't let him spoil our first kiss."

Rabastan still looked furious, but she could see him warming up under her touch. He brushed his hands across her hair. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to stop this epic romance.” Ted said, trying to smirk but failing. She glared at him, hoping her take the hint and leave, and the boys around her tensed again.

Another Hufflepuff boy came up behind Ted and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Let it go.” 

Ted looked like he would rather swallow stink sap, but he let himself be dragged away. His eyes found hers one more time, somehow looking dark despite their vibrant blue tone, before he allowed himself to be led up to the castle.

The boys around her muttered something, while Rabastan put his arm around her waist. Her heart fluttered, but only part of it. The other part of was still stuck on the look Ted given her. He’d never looked at her like that before, like his eyes burned away her skin. Like he hated her.


	8. chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted tracks down Andromeda to get some answers

Lucky for Ted, he had Friday afternoons off. And it was also lucky he happened to know the Slytherin sixth years last class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures, meaning Andromeda would be coming in from the outside.

He buried his face in a book as they came up the steps, trying to peer inconspicuously over the cover. There were several sixth year Slytherin’s he’d rather not discover him lurking about.

She came in toward the end, but she wasn’t alone. Another brown-haired Slytherin girl was with her. Magdalena. Magdalena also tended to keep to herself, and he couldn’t recall her ever calling someone a mudblood. And she’d smiled at him and Lorie on more than one occasion, so she probably hadn’t done it on accident or because she was admiring herself in the mirror behind them. He decided to risk it.

He stepped out in front of Andromeda. “I need to talk to you.”

The color drained from her face, while Magdalena raised her eyebrows. Clearly, not being a psychopath didn’t mean she didn’t understand the implication of Ted talking to Meda. She glanced between them with a slight frown, before saying, “I’ll leave you to it.” She gave Ted a polite smile before continuing toward the great hall.

Andromeda watched her friend go, before turning to him. With a glance around the hall, they rounded the corner and moved inside an unused classroom.

“You needed to speak with me?” Her voice was polite, but clipped. For some reason, that set him off.

“What’s the matter, going to be late to a rendezvous with Rabastan?”

Andromeda stiffened, but she didn’t deny it either. His stomach lurched, but he kept a lazy grin on his face as he said. “Are you still angry at me for insulting the pretty boy?”  
“Yes, actually.” She looked like she was speaking against her will, but she couldn’t stop herself. “What were you thinking? Provoking them like that?”

But Ted didn’t feel like answering her question, mostly because the answer was he hadn’t been, thinking, that is. “What’s going between the two of you anyway?” He tried to keep his voice nonchalant, but it seemed his efforts had been for nothing, as Andromeda swelled like a balloon.

“That’s none of your business.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Really? And how would he feel if he knew you were meeting with me a few times a week?”

He eyes widened. “You can’t tell him.”

“Why?” He swallowed the acid taste in his mouth. “Because it will mess things up for the two of you?”

She shook her head. “It will mess things up for you.” There was something about the way she said that that made him uneasy, but he didn’t want to feel uneasy. He wanted to be angry.

“So what? You’ll giggle and smile when we’re alone, but as soon as other people are around I go back to being vermin?”

She let a long sigh. “What do you want me to do, Ted?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Be honest.” 

She shook her head. “You don’t know them like I do.”

“Looks like I don’t know you like I thought I did either.” She sucked in breath, her brown eyes darting up to him. No matter how many times he saw them, his heart still skipped a beat every time.

“What did you think was going to happen?” 

Funny, he’d asked himself that same question before.

“Clearly, I wasn’t,” he said. Funny, he’d thought that same thing earlier too, to another one of her questions. What a funny conversation they were having, complete with the feeling that his insides were being devoured by worms.

She folded her arms across her chest. “What are you saying?”

His heart thudded at her proximity, his mind spinning as he tried to absorb everything about her. His lips felt dry, but he still managed to say, “find someone else to be your back-up boy.” And then he left her alone in that room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda finds herself at the Masquerade, where not everyone is as they seem.

"Alright, Andromeda, open your eyes."

She did, as slowly as she dared.

She had to admit, her sister had done wonders. Half her hair was pulled up in an elegant bun, while the rest touched down just past her shoulders, a gentle curl fanning it out behind her.

She hadn't thought make-up was necessary, since the mask covered half her face anyway, but Narcissa felt differently. Her lips were now a deep red color, like wine, while her eyes were so decorated she couldn't tell where they ended, and her blue and gold mask began. Extending out past the mask were swirling, sparkling lines that made it seem as though her entire face were one intricate, glowing design.

She had thought her dress, at least, would come up short. She'd been shocked at the dress her mother had sent her, a simple blue gown that seemed more like sleepwear than formal wear as it was uncharacteristically plain. And it was simple, made of a dark blue, satin-like material. It was extremely tight in places, accenting her tiny waist and flaring hips. Her full bosom peaked out over the uncomfortably low neckline. And there was some sort of charm on the fabric; whenever she moved it shimmered like a sapphire catching the sunlight. It was sleeveless, but gold chains and jewelry curled around her neck and arms, giving her pale, exposed skin a gentle glow.

She was beautiful. She was beyond beautiful; she was ravishing.

And it scared her. It was like an alien was staring at her from that mirror, a stranger inside her own body.

"Well, what do you think?"

"It's, my, Narcissa it's incredible."

"I know," she squealed, clapping her hands together, and then she added in a husky undertone, "Rabastan won't be able to take his eyes off you."

The thought made Andromeda's blood boil, or freeze, or both, so she tried not to think about it.

"Cissa?" A dark-haired girl, one of Narcissa's roommates, poked her head into their room. Gabriella Parkinson was her name. "Are you ready yet? We need to go."

Narcissa flicked her wrist at the girl. "Almost," she said, crossing over to her dresser and grabbing a jade pendant, which she carefully clasped around her neck. "There."

However good Andromeda looked, she was nothing compared to her sister. Narcissa was positively glowing in a shade of dark green that set off her eyes. Her pale skin contrasted sharply with her dark eyes and matching jewelry; she looked like a green avenging angel.

"Meda, aren't you coming?" Narcissa pulled Meda out of her reverie.

She shook her head. "You go on. I'll be along in a minute." 

Narcissa pinched her face together, like she was trying to puzzle through something, but failed. "All right." She gave Meda a strange look as she closed the door behind her.  
Andromeda placed her hands on the vanity, breathing heavily, but it did little to slow her heartbeat.

She hadn’t seen either Ted or Rabastan since her fight with Ted. She still wasn’t sure what was happening between her and Ted, but whatever it was, it was over. Somehow, that made the idea of seeing Rabastan all the worse. When she was with Ted, she felt in control, like there was some part of her life that belonged to her. Rabastan felt like a cage. A cage with soft, red lips that made her feel dizzy and warm all at once.

She didn't want to go to the dance. She wanted to curl up in a good book and never think about boys again, at least not real ones. But life wasn't about what you wanted; it was about what was expected of you. She turned to the door. If only she could leave her confusion behind her. 

She barely recognized the Great Hall as she stepped inside. It had been literally transformed into a glittering, mystic ballroom. Glowing orbs scattered around the corners provided the only light on the dance floor. A wispy black mist swirled around the whirling couples, coming up to about her waist. The dancers looked like they were floating through it, the graceful ones at least.

She made her way to the side table as subtly as she could, but every time her dressed passed under the lights it glimmered, attracting attention. A few guys shifted towards her, openly looking her up and down as they tried to decide who was behind the mask. As she was forced to come in closer contact with people, she could feel a few people whispering, and from somewhere she heard a few whistles. She stopped, instinctively looking around, but it was impossible to tell where it was coming from.  
She did her best not to run, walking towards the table in a far corner of the room, and then she tried even harder to keep herself from collapsing into the chair. She breathed out deeply, trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts. She should probably find her sisters, or Magdalena, one of her fellow sixth year Slytherins. Magdalena wasn't from one of the old wizarding families, so she wasn't quite in the circle. But she'd always been friendly to Andromeda, and Andromeda supposed she would consider her a friend. She was also one of the few other people who didn't join in the common room rants at night, which gave them something to bond over. But she had no idea where to find her, or even what she'd look like.

And somewhere here was Rabastan. She couldn’t ignore his request, but the idea of dancing with him… images of him kissing her kept swirling in her head. Every kiss had been different. When he kissed her hand he was cold and formal, but when he kissed her cheek he was gentle and warm, and when he kissed her lips he was demanding and breathtaking. Was there really a difference? He always seemed like the same outrageously confident, smug, mysterious, seductive…. person that she'd known before, and yet, not. Perhaps he was a different person when he was away from his family and his fan club of girls. He'd certainly seemed different, a little more vulnerable, human.

She closed her eyes and another face crept into her thoughts, a face she wasn't allowed to think about—

"Andromeda?" She looked up, startled. Before her stood the last person she'd ever expect to approach her in a setting like this, Roldophus Lestrange.

Roldophus was technically a year older than his brother, but he'd completely missed his fifth year. No one knew why he hadn't come to school that year, but rumors were rampant. Some said he'd been really sick, while others thought he'd been sent to Azkaban. Some thought he'd been bitten by a werewolf and told he couldn't return, but then he'd come back the next year. He'd been forced to repeat his fifth year, obviously, which landed him in the same year as his brother. He was different after he came back, less inclined to interact with the other students. He'd always been mysterious, like his brother, but where Rabastan was charismatic and popular; Roldophus was legendary, and completely isolated. The loner. But as far as Andromeda could tell, it was what he wanted. He was a bit like her older sister in that regard.

"How could you tell it was me?" she asked. 

She'd meant it light-heartedly, but he didn't even smile, at first. And then it was only a small, amused smile. 

"Only you are so beautiful, and so determined to hide." His words were oddly chilling.

"Do you need something?" she tried to keep her voice steady.

Another long silence, then, "Bastan was looking for you, and I offered to bring you to him." He held out a hand. "Shall we?" "

However unsettling Rabastan might be, he would never come within leagues of his brother. But to refuse would’ve been impolite, and if he was to be her future brother-in-law, she’d better start getting used to him. Goodness knows she needed the time.

He led her through the many groups of dancers and chatterers to a group near the center. It seemed all of the wealthy Slytherin families had decided to band together for the occasion. It made sense. They'd grown up going to these sorts of things together, it was what they were used to. Both her sisters were there, as well as Evan Rosier, Lucius Malfoy, and Claire Zabini, a fellow sixth year. But Rabastan Lestrange was missing.

Claire turned towards her, her dark eyes flashing. "Is that you, Andromeda? My goodness, don't you look ravishing." Andromeda had never got the impression that Claire liked her, but she supposed she dared not say anything with Bellatrix so close. The only reason her own reputation had survived this long is no own dared insult the sister of Bellatrix Black, and she couldn't exactly say she was ungrateful.

"I'm glad Roldophus found you," Claire continued. "It's a madhouse here. You can't see anyone, and even if you could you can't tell who they are. No way to tell if the boy running his hands up your ass is a mudblood or wizard. Ughh, can you imagine accidentally dancing with one? The thought's revolting."

"I vote we just hex them all," Amycus Carrow cut in, "save ourselves the trouble."

"Meda!" Narcissa cut in, sparing Andromeda from having to respond to either of them. "Where have you been? Rabastan's been waiting for you!" She grabbed her sister's arm, throwing her forward.

"Do you see that light?" She indicated to a glowing blue orb in the center of the hall. "Go stand under it. Your dress will just absolutely glimmer and when Rabastan sees you and asks you to dance… oh! It will be so romantic! Go on." She gave her sister another shove forward, and before she could protest, she was standing alone in the middle of the great hall.

She took another deep breath, waiting. She'd only promised one dance, that was it. He wouldn't expect more, would he? Or would we? They were engaged after all, maybe she'd be expected to dance every dance with him, spend the whole evening with him…

"Andromeda?"

Her breath stopped. He was here, there was nothing more she could do. She turned around to dance with her fiancé. 

"Rabastan?" she asked, but he didn't respond, just held out his hand. She took it, and he led her away to a far, secluded corner. Her pulse sped up. That didn't seem like Rabastan, he always preferred to be where everyone could see him, the center of attention. His motives for wanting privacy could only be things that made her uncomfortable.

"Where are we going?" she asked, but he still didn't answer. Instead he stopped, whirled her close to him, and began to dance. Andromeda's breath caught. She could feel his body gently brushing up against hers, his hand sliding across her waist, and his warm hand in hers.

The world spun around her but this one moment stood still, outside of time. She couldn't think, she could barely remember to breath, but even though her heart was still racing a part of her just gave in, gave into everything, the moment, the feeling, and then…

And then he stepped on her foot.

"Ow!" She looked up at him in shock. His hands fell away from her, nervously twitching at his side in a familiar fashion.

"Sorry, I'm not actually very good at this whole dancing thing."

Andromeda took a step back. "Ted?" she said, her mouth hanging open.

He attempted a smile. "Who else?" Andromeda didn’t laugh. She’d thought, after the way things had ended between them, that he’d never want to speak to her again, much less dance with her. It didn’t make any sense.

"We're you ever going to tell me it was you?"

"Uhh…" He ran his hand through his hair again. "Eventually. I was kind of afraid something like— this— would happen."

"I see." Andromeda took another deep breath. A part of her wanted to reach out and strangle Ted, but she resisted. "I hope you enjoy being right." Then she whipped around and stormed off.

"Andromeda, wait!" He caught up to her. “Look, I'm sorry all right?” 

She faced him, surprised. “You’re sorry?” Sorry about what was the real question. Sorry that he hadn’t told who he was or sorry that…

It seemed the same question was on his mind, and that he didn’t know the answer. She shouldn’t wait for him to figure it out, but here she was. Waiting.

“Look, can we just start over?”

Something inside her shifted, but she sighed and said, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

She couldn’t quite see his face under his gold mask, but his shoulders slumped a little.

“Is that a maybe, then?” His voice, however, sounded hopeful.

"How did you even know it was me?" She dodged his question.

He just looked at her, like he was unsure what to say.

"Because you said you liked blue?" he said it like he was trying to see if she would actually believe him.

She just huffed, her hand still tangled in her hair. She could feel some of the curls coming down around her face. What would her sister do if she knew Meda had already ruined her hair? The image made her smile, but it was quickly replaced by the image of Cissa seeing her with Ted. The smile slipped off her face.

She looked at him again. She hadn't really had the chance to see him before, but now she could.

He was wearing a simple black dress robe that even looked a bit frayed, which would've been her first indicator that it wasn't Rabastan if she'd been paying attention. Still, it was a snug suit and she could see the outline of his solid build through it. She tried not to think about what she'd seen under his shirt, but the image slipped in anyway. What really caught her attention was his simple gold mask. It was just a shade darker than his thick golden hair, which looked as messy as it usually did. It was kind of funny looking, a nice mask and then, just above, Ted's mop of straggly hair. She almost smiled, almost. And then there were his eyes, which somehow seemed even brighter under his mask, or maybe it was because they had never stared at her so intently. She found herself meeting his gaze.

She broke the connection, hastily gathering up her skirts. "Goodnight, Ted."

"Would you just…” He moved in front of her, blocking her path. “I know we have our issues, but before then we had a nice thing going, and I just think…” he rolled on the balls of his feet, shifting restlessly, “I think that’s worth enough to… to give this another shot.”

It certainly sounded like a nice idea. And as she looked at him, she wanted so badly to say yes. But they’d been playing with fire, and it was probably best to let it go out.

“I’m sorry.” Ted looked away, so she couldn’t see his face. Ignoring the sudden heaviness in her chest she started forward, but he stepped in front of her.

“Can we at least, you know, dance? As a commemoration of our brief but meaningful friendship? “He held out his hand. 

She shouldn’t take it. She knew she couldn’t take it, but she couldn’t stop herself.

"Just one dance," she stammered, trying not to trip as he flung her forward, "And if you step on my foot again I swear to God I'll—"

He stopped, wrapping her in his arms again.

"You'll what?" he prompted, his eyes dancing.

She stared at him. "Hurt you," she whispered, breathless. He just smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things unravel for Ted and Meda and the masquerade

Ted placed his hand around her waist and took her hand, but he didn't pull her as close as he had before. Even with the added distance, she could feel the tension in his hand on her back. It shifted restlessly, crawling forward and then pulling itself back. She glanced up at Ted, then down at her waist, then back up at Ted.

"You know your hand actually goes on the small of my back?"

He pressed his lips together, "Of course, who doesn't know that?" But he turned crimson anyway as he started to move his hand up.

She reached back and caught his arm. Then she stepped closer, just close enough to brush her body up against his. He got the message, and his hand wrapped around her waist, securing her there. They were so close she could feel his breath. He was staring at her, and suddenly she couldn't take any more of those eyes. She turned her head. What was she doing? If anyone recognized her she was doomed. Most people didn't know she was engaged, but a few of them had caught her and Rabastan staring at each other. His fan club, at least, had picked up that something was going on between them. But then, if any Slytherin saw her, and realized who she was, she was dead.

She felt Ted's hand loosen, and she slipped backward. She looked up at him, now that there was room to breathe between them. Something in her heart sank a little though, but he grinned at her crookedly, and she couldn’t help but grin back, and this time she didn’t break eye contact. They continued to dance, the music a soft, haunting melody, but Meda barely noticed. She forgot about the people, about Rabastan, about everything. There was just his body next to hers, his hand in her hand, his blue eyes gazing into her brown ones. The two of them outside of time as they danced.

The people around her stopped moving. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed the song ended. She looked up at his face, and then hastily backed away with an almost horrified look. He released her, reluctantly. His mouth parted as though he wished to say something, but couldn't remember how to talk.

"I have to go." She gave him a brief curtsy, not registering how out of place that was for a school dance.

"What am I to you Andromeda?” His question caught her off guard, and she found herself stopping and turning again. He stared at her, his eyes no longer hopeful and mystified.

"I don't—"

"Or was I? I guess I should say,” he stepped forward. “Was this always just a game to you? Was I just some toy for you to play with, and then throw out when you were done with me?”

His words stung, but her own anger quickly overcame her hurt and she spat, "you know it's not that simple."

He threw his arms in the air. "Nothing's simple, Andromeda! And I get it, I get that you couldn't parade what we're doing, but this meant something to me.” He stopped, looking her over again. “I guess I thought it meant something to you too.”

She closed her eyes, she couldn't give him the answer he wanted, she couldn't. "Ted, I—

But he wasn’t listening as he backed away.

Her chest rose and fell, slowly, as she stared after him. But wasn’t this what she wanted? To keep things over?

“Andromeda?” Another voice said behind her. A softer voice, more like a purr. She didn’t need to see him to know for sure it was Rabastan this time.

“They weren't exaggerating, you look fantastic." His eyes lingered on her dress before returning to her face. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." He took her hand, and she jumped, startled.

"Andromeda?" Her name sounded so different when he said it, less, mysterious, "Are you all right?"

"I—" she couldn't help it, she looked over her shoulder where Ted had disappeared before returning her attention to Rabastan.

"I'm fine. I just..." she breathed, then smiled up at him, "I'm sorry it's been so hard for us to find each other." He smirked, taking her hand in his, and then he lifted his other hand and stroked her cheek.

"Then let's not waste another second."

Like she expected, he led her to the center of the dance floor, where everyone could see them.

Unlike Ted, he knew to place his hand on her back, except he used it press her against him. She looked sharply to the side, choosing instead to watch the couples that were twirling around them. She saw Narcissa with the Slytherin Seeker Torin Flint. Her sister made a face at her before gesturing to Rabastan. Reluctantly, Andromeda looked back to her dance partner. Rabastan was looking at her, a smile on his lips, which were now right next to hers. She quickly looked down, while still being able to watch him out of the corner of her eye. The smile slipped off his face a little.

“I’m sorry I kissed you.” 

She looked up, but meeting his gaze was still too much and her eyes quickly turned over her shoulder.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” she said. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that he was, either. Did that mean he didn’t like it?

“But I am.” He sighed. “The boys asked me why I was paying so much attention to you, so I lied and said we were going out. And then they asked me to prove it.” He looked down a little. “I still haven’t told anyone we’re engaged.”

“Me neither,” Andromeda said. “I mean my sisters know, but no one else.”

“I told Rolf,” Rabastan said. “He doesn’t understand why I want to keep it a secret though.”

But Andromeda did, and he seemed to sense that.

“To be fair," he said after a pause, smiling again, “It’s not like I minded kissing you. That much.” She made a face at him, almost without thinking.

“It wasn’t completely deplorable for me either,” she said, and he grinned.

“May I interrupt?” Came another, purr-like voice. Rodolphus Lestrange was standing next to them.

“Of course.” Rabastan nodded to his brother, gave her another smile, and then left.

For the third time tonight, someone held their hand out to her, though for the first time, she took it with trembling fingers.

Rodolphus didn’t hold her nearly as close as Rabastan, or even Ted, but there wasn’t a certain firmness to his grip, making her feel like she was more in his grasp than any of the others.

“So, we’re to be family soon.” 

She nodded, forcing a smile, which he didn’t return. She wasn't sure if he meant that as a good thing anyway. It was more like a statement of fact, without him giving his opinion on the matter one way or another.

He didn’t say anything else. Perhaps that was all he had to say. She couldn’t bear to look at him any more than Rabastan, which is how she ended up gazing around at the couples again. There were a lot of Slytherin’s around her: Lucius Malfoy and Luciana Nott, both the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge, who was dancing by herself, Andromeda noted, and Bellatrix and Evan Rosier. Bella caught her stare, but her gaze quickly drifted to Meda's partner, Roldophus. She raised her eyebrows, and then made a face at Meda. Andromeda bit back a chuckle. It was moments like those where Bella felt like the lovable older sister she remembered and not…

“Rabastan seems to care for you,” Rodolphus’s voice surprised her.

“Yes. And the feeling's mutual.” She almost winced at how forced that sounded, even though she was not sure it was forced.

Rodolphus almost smiled. “He cares for a lot of women. Truly, my brother has terrible sense when it comes to the female sex.”

Andromeda presses her lips together. What was she supposed to say to that?

“But you, you seem different.” His voice barely had any inflection, and his face was near expressionless, making it impossible to determine his meaning.

“You play the pretty, simpering, obedient daughter, but there’s something else in you, isn’t there? You’re not nearly as airy as you seam.”

She blushed, though she wasn't quite sure why.

The song ended. Rodolphus released her and walked away. She stared after him, a slight frown on her lips. That conversation felt like it was missing something, like he’d left before he'd actually gotten to the point. She shook her head. Trying to understand Rodolphus seemed like more trouble than it was worth. At least the strangest part of the evening was over.

She was wrong. Her next dance was with Antonin Dolohov. There weren’t even words to describe what that encounter was like. Antonin was a thickset man with sweaty hands who towered over her. He didn’t say anything, he just stared at her, the whole time.

After that she excused herself to get a breath of fresh air. She went out into the entrance hall, letting out a long breath as the much cooler air washed over her. The air inside was beginning to thicken from the sweat of dancing bodies.

She couldn’t hide out here forever, as much as she might like too. But it was nice not to have to talk or dance with people for just a moment.

“Hey.” 

She looked over. Her heart seemed to lift a little at the sight of Ted, even though that didn’t make any sense. They’d just had their second fight in a week. Who was to say he hadn’t come back for a third?

Nothing. Which was why she needed to leave.

“Wait.” He grabbed her sleeve. She stopped, even though they’d already been through this before tonight. It wouldn’t lead to anything good. She knew this, yet she still didn’t pull her arm out of his grip.

“I’m sorry. About what I said. It was wrong.” That lightness returned to her chest, making her feel like she was floating. Still, all she did was nod, pulling her sleeve out from under his grip.

“Will you come with me? There’s something I want to show you.”

“Oh.” She glanced back at the Great Hall. She really needed to head back inside, before someone wondered where she went. Yet the prospect of returning to the dance was so uninviting, whereas as the idea of going with Ted. Well, what harm could one more little venture together do?

He didn’t smile when she agreed to come with him. By contrast, he turned his back to her and walked away, forcing her to follow after him. He didn’t look back at her at all, and the hair on the back of his head turned shiny under a line of sweat. What on earth was he doing?

As their venture grew longer she grew more impatient. What if someone noticed her absence and decided to come looking for her?

Ted finally stopped in the space underneath the grand staircase before turning to face her.

"What is it?" she asked, her frustration mounting.

He looked her over again, slowly, taking in every little detail of her body. His eyes lingered on the curves of her dress, her lips, and finally her eyes. There was a longing there she had never seen before. Raw. Desperate.

"This," And then he rushed forward, grabbed her arms…

And kissed her.

At first, his lips were slow, hesitant, but when she didn't push him away he deepened it, like he was slowly pulling her out, into him.

Her entire body shuddered, and she reached up her arms to push him away, but instead placed them firmly on his chest, and kissed him back. His breath caught as she responded, and he pulled back, only to come back and kiss her harder. Her hands slipped off his chest, moving up to wrap around his neck, pulling herself closer. He moaned softly, his hands running down the length of arms, towards her waist.

Someone behind them laughed. The two of them pulled apart just as two people, a boy and a girl, came barreling around the corner.

"Oh," the girl stopped laughing the moment she saw them. They were still standing rather close, and their hands were still on each other. The girl grinned sheepishly, looking over at her boyfriend. "Looks like we walked in on something, sorry." She giggled, then grabbed the boy's hand and sped off down the hallway.

Andromeda looked at him, her breath coming out in raspy gasps. She dropped her hands as she turned away. They flew to her mouth, and then she slowly forced them to straighten at her side. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, but she could still feel where his lips had been. She looked back, thinking, hoping, that Ted wasn't really there, but he was. He was staring at the floor, his hand tangled up in his hair, again. He looked up to meet her gaze. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, wide-eyed, breathless, lost. She kept thinking he was going to say something, but for once, he was silent.

Finally, the silence had reached a bursting point. He stepped forward. "Andromed—"

"Go." 

He stopped, eyes widening in shock.

"I need you,” she took a deep breath, “to go.”

His shoulders slumped and the light in his eyes seemed to literally go out. "Andromeda, please—"

"Just get out here." The tears were getting closer to the edge of her eyelids. "Please."

He stumbled back, like a bird with broken wings. Finally, he managed to turn around. He took a few steps, then glanced back at her. She turned away, so he wouldn’t see her tears.

When she looked back, he was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Andromeda deal with the after effects of the Masquerade

“And did you see what that Hufflepuff girl was wearing? Atrocious!” Marina Warrington said.

“It certainly would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if the younger students hadn’t been invited,” Claire Zabini said, examining her hails. “But Andromeda had a good time, didn’t you, Andromeda?”

Andromeda didn’t respond, choosing instead to focus her attention on her sculpture. Professor Flitwick had the brilliant idea to have them practice their last few weeks of lessons by creating sculptures using magic. It was a good plan, in theory, except most people couldn’t draw a dog, much like sculpt one with magic. Andromeda was determined not to be one of those people. And she didn’t want to think about the dance, or what kind of time she’d had, or the Hufflepuff who was sitting a few seats in front of her.

Finally, mercifully, class ended. Ted got up quickly, and after a quick farewell to his friends, scurried toward the door. Andromeda watched him for a minute. They hadn’t spoken since that Saturday night, they hadn’t even looked at each other, but she could still taste his kiss on her lips. A part of her wanted to pretend it never happened, but she couldn’t do that. She’d kissed another man, while she was engaged. That wasn’t something you could just ignore.

And there was the part of her that couldn’t forget Ted’s kiss even if she wanted too. 

Sighing, she pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and quickly scribbled on it. She folded it up, so no one could see its contents and then hurried out the door. To say Ted was surprised when she came scurrying up behind him was an understatement. He near jumped out of his skin, his face flushing. Andromeda scarcely allowed herself to look at him though and she handed him the slip of paper. He looked up at her, and she couldn’t help but meet his gaze. His lips opened like he was going to say something, but she quickly backed away before he could.

******************************************************

Hogwarts was creepy at night. Despite everything else he could or should be thinking about, he couldn't help but notice the way the suits of armor looked like deformed spiders in the shadows. Though honestly, they were far less frightening than what might await him at his destination, if he had any idea what lay at his destination. Her note has only said Trophy room and midnight.

He was still fuming at her. Fuming at her for so many reasons he could scarcely keep track. The way she’d acted at the dance, like what had happened between them was his fault. He wasn’t then one going around kissing pureblood prats and then getting all defensive about it. He wasn’t the one lying through his teeth to everyone and anyone. He was even still angry that she’d stopped him from punching Rabastan last week. Granted, that would’ve brought the snakes on him for sure, but getting turned into a wombat was better than the empty, hollowness that was knawing away at his insides right now. He couldn’t forget the way she’d curled into Rabastan that day he kissed her by the lake. How could he? It was like have a corkscrew hammered through his gut. You didn’t just forget pain like that.

Ted had never liked Rabastan, but not for the reasons he disliked the Bellatrix Blacks and Evan Rosiers of the world. Rabastan didn’t hex people for the heck of it, even if he was a self-absorbed little prick. Because of his stunning good looks many of the girls, even his two best friends, got faint-hearted around him. He hadn’t thought Andromeda was one of those girls, but clearly, he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. It was bad enough his friend Lorie had a crush on him, did he have to take Andromeda too? And why did she have to let him? Didn't she know who Rabastan was? He didn't love her, he couldn't, not the way Ted did.

He stopped. He hadn’t been willing to admit it, even when watching her with Rabastan ripped him up inside. Even when he’d kissed her. Even when her dismissal after their kiss felt like dying. It was only when he finally managed to calm down, to breathe, that he was forced to face it.

He was in love with Andromeda Black. And he was screwed because of it.

It was one thing to have a secret friendship, but this? This was suicide. He knew it, and he didn't care. 

But she would. 

How do you get yourself into these situations? He wanted to scream. You couldn't leave her alone and now look? He was in over his head, practically drowning. He shouldn’t have kissed her. He hadn’t even meant to do it. He’d meant to just talk to her. But somehow his body had confused words with lips. And as much as he might want to he couldn’t take it back.

He loved her, and there was a good chance it wouldn't mean a damn thing.

Except he was forgetting something, she wanted to meet him. She hadn't sought out Rabastan, she'd sought him. That had to count for something.

Yeah, a barrel full of dragon dung, that's what it counted for.

He'd reached the trophy room, and it was empty.

Instantly he was railing again. Maybe she'd lied. Maybe she just wanted to get him in trouble. Maybe she'd set up her little pureblood friends somewhere to catch him when he'd let his guard down…

"Ted?"

He turned around. There she was, dressed in a white and blue nightgown with a black cloak pulled over it, angelic. Why did she always have to look so damn beautiful? He'd been a goner from the start. And he was really starting to hate her for it.

"What, you don't recognize me? Forgotten who I am already?"

She stopped, looking shocked, and she even had the nerve to look a little hurt. "Ted—"

"Or maybe you were expecting someone else. Can't exactly be looking forward to seeing ugly old me when you've got pretty boy Rabastan hanging about."

Her shock deepened, like she couldn't believe he'd actually say that to her. Guess she gotten used to his nice guy routine, but that was gone.

"Have you shagged him yet? Hell, why I am asking. You probably went to his room right after the dance, right? You know, right after you threw me out? Guess I was right about being rubbish, wasn't I? And how was it, by the way? How was it having sex with—"

"Ted!" she screamed, cutting him off. "Will you shut up and listen for once?"

And he did, mostly because he was fuming too much to think clearly anyway.

She took a step forward, her mouth set into a firm line and her little hands clenched at her sides, and asked, "Why did you kiss me?"

Ted couldn't help it, he laughed. "That's your question?"

That only made her madder. "What the hell made you think you had the right to kiss me? Do you have any idea what damage you could've done?"

Ted stared at her, the dry laughter vanishing instantly. He'd never felt so furious in his life. A part of him wanted to reach forward and throttle her, and he ran his hands through his hair to keep from doing it. "Why?" he asked instead, " ‘Cause your boyfriend will find out and think you're two-timing him?" He stopped, pretending to look horrified. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No! Of course I didn't," she said, near shouting herself. "But do you understand what will happen if people find out what you did?"

"What?" He threw his hands in the air. "They'll kill you?"

Her eyes darkened. "No, they'll kill you." She closed her eyes, her voice constricting, "And then they'll kill me."

He snorted. "Your concern is touching."

And she was back, glaring. "Do you think this is a joke?"

"No, but apparently you do." He started pacing to keep himself from rushing forward and grabbing her. "How many people do you kiss in a week Andromeda? Do you and your sisters have a competition to see who gets the most?"

The color drained. She took a step forward, her fury stretching her pale skin tightly across her cheekbones.

"You. Kissed. Me." She spit out the words.

He stopped pacing. "You. Kissed. Me. Back."

She seemed near an exploding point. "You ever make a move like that on me again," she said, her eyes blazing, " I swear to god I'll—"

"You'll what?" Ted said, he couldn't help but notice the irony, as a few days ago they'd been having this same conversation, said these exact same words. But there was nothing amusing about it this time, and there was nothing forgiving in Andromeda now.

"Stay away from me, Ted," she said, before storming off.

He stared after her, and suddenly he hated everything about her. Which is why he lifted up his arms and shouted, "I thought you were different, Andromeda, but you're just like the rest of them. At least they're honest about it."

She stopped, turning. Something told Ted he'd crossed a line, or more of a line that just kissing her and then being an ass about it. This time he was convinced she was going to kill him, or at least hex him from here to India. Her nostrils flared as she hissed, "You don't know a damn thing about me, Ted."

He snarled at her. "Really, I—"

"No, you may know my favorite color, and my favorite animal, but you don't know a thing about me." She'd come back, so she was standing only a few inches from him, her voice trembling with fury. "You have no idea what it's like living with them, so stopped pretending like you know."

"You ever though that's because you won't talk to me?" He shouted that last part, leaning down into her face. She flinched away but he grabbed her wrist. "You just hide Andromeda, and you think if you just bury your head in the sand everything will turn out all right."

His words had struck home, "I hate you, Ted," She said, pulling away from him. He could see the tears pooling in her eyes, then her anger took over and she screamed, " I hate you! I swear to God I'll—"

"You'll what?" he said again.

She still didn't answer, but she didn't turn away. Instead she marched up to him. He thought she was going to slap him, but she didn't. Instead she placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. Hard.


	12. chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda and Ted deal with the after affects of thier clandestine meeting

It didn’t matter that he’d expected her to slap him instead of kiss him. The second her lips were on his he opened up to meet them. His hands were around her neck, sliding up to her hair as he tangled his hands in it the way he'd always dreamed of doing. His other hand slid down her shoulder, toward her waist. She moaned underneath him, and her hands shot up, running roughly through his hair as she arched up into him. Ted found himself almost growling with pleasure as his hand moved down to her lower back, pressing her hard against him. Their kiss, which had started out slow and longing, quickly deepened into something much, much more. 

Ted had seen the way she kissed Rabastan, but he doubted it had been anything like this. This, desperate. Like a raw hunger neither could satisfy but they could damn well try. Ted didn't think about what was happening, he couldn't. All he knew is that all he ever wanted was to kiss Andromeda like this, and keep kissing her until…

They heard a sharp rap behind them.

Andromeda pulled away, staring at him with wide, terror-filled eyes. They heard someone muttering, and they both knew exactly what that meant.

Filch.

Ted swore. Why did this have to happen now?

"He's coming." Andromeda looked like it was the hounds of hell coming and not the caretaker and his little kitten. But then, that cat was a piece of work. This one time it bawled at him just because he'd dragged a little too much mud in and then he'd had to make a run for it before…

Andromeda started toward the door. That was no good. Filch was just on the other side of it. She was going to run straight into him. Ted seized her wrist. "This way," he said through the side of his mouth. They ran off toward a secluded corner of the trophy room and hid behind a couple of man-sized shields. Andromeda's cloak had just whipped behind a corner when Filch came bursting into the room.

He looked around, almost like he was sniffing for something.

"Moved on, did they? But we definitely heard yells coming from here, didn't we, my sweet? A dueling game gone awry, perhaps?"

He and Andromeda must have sounded pretty damn angry, but there was no time to dwell on this, Mrs. Norris was coming their way.

Professor Filch had been installed as the caretaker in Ted's third year, and seemed to have a personal vendetta against all students. But he was kind of thick, so by now they knew how to out-smart him. But this year he'd shown up with a kitten, who possessed things Filch didn't, like a superb sense of smell and the ability to see in the dark.

The kitten sniffed eagerly in their direction, her eyes glowing. Ted raised his wand but Andromeda grabbed his arm, shaking her head curtly. He knew she was right, but he couldn't help glaring at her. Did she have a better idea? He looked around for something to distract the cat with, but it turned out he didn't need it.

He heard a crash on the other side of the room. He looked behind him to see Andromeda with her wand raised, an almost smug look on her face. A small trophy was missing from the shelf next to them.

Looks like she did have a better idea. She caught him staring and gave him a sharp tap, jerking him into motion. The two of them raced forward just as Filch and the cat raced toward the source of the noise, though the cat moved somewhat hesitantly, still glaring in their direction.

"This way Mrs. Norris. Oh! Perhaps it is not students at all, perhaps it is Peeves up to his usual mischief!"

Ted looked over his shoulder just as Mrs. Norris looked over at them. Their eyes met. He was about to stick his tongue out at her when Andromeda grabbed his arm and dragged his arm roughly forward. Once again, it was a smart move, but he would never tell her that. The two of them raced through corridor and down the winding staircase, stopping only when they had reached a shadowy corner by the kitchens.

"Well," Ted said, after an insufferable silence broken only by their rasping breath, "that was close." Andromeda gave him a scathing look, opening her mouth to say something, but instead she closed it. She glanced over at him with wide eyes. His lips still felt warm, and his skin tingled where she’d touched him. He blushed, and she ducked her head, starting down the passageway that leads toward the dungeons.

"Andromeda!" He was surprised that it came out as a shout, but he didn't care. "No more, you are not running out on me again."

Her eyes and mouth still looked fierce, but her shoulders slumped and her voice sounded dry and raspy as she saod. "What do you want me to do, Ted?"

His throat felt dry and his eyes wet, but he choked it back, "I want you to tell me what's going on, with you… with us."

She closed her eyes, her shoulders falling, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" How could she still be playing this game? "Why'd you kiss me?"

"I don't know!" She screamed, renewing her attempts to pull free of his grasp.

"You don't know?" His voice dropped into a quiet, course whisper. "You don't kiss people like that unless you—"

"Unless you what?" Her voice quivered like she was choking back tears, but she finally managed to pull her hand free.

He turned away, running his hands through his hair. "You're not making this very easy." He said that to the wall, not daring to look at her.

She was silent. Maybe she decided to leave, he thought, shuddering. But then, "Well, if you want to go out with me, you'd better get used to things not being very easy."

He froze. The words didn't register. He turns toward her, shock lining every little crease of his face. After everything that had happened tonight, everything he'd felt, he'd never even entertained the possibility. He'd never thought there was one. But Andromeda, she, she was saying…

She'd come to same conclusion. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She turned, ready to flee, but his hand snaked around her wrist. He didn't even think about doing it, it just happened. She didn't fight him, she just stared. He didn't loosen his grip on her, but his hands gently caressed the soft skin. His thumb rested on the inside of her wrist.

*******************************************************************************

Andromeda couldn't breathe. Her blood raced toward her wrist almost like it was gravitating toward his touch. All that mattered was the feeling of his hand on hers, the lingering heat on her lips, memories of the way her heart lifted every time she saw him, how he could make her laugh away her troubles…But she really thought about none of that, not consciously, her mind just reacted to what her body remembered.

"We'll have to be really careful," she whispered, too scared to look him in the eye. "We won't be able to acknowledge each other around school at all, even when we’re surrounded by strangers..."

His hand moved up to her forearm, his grip firm but gentle. He took a step.

"I mean it, Ted," she said. Maybe because she was afraid he wasn't listening, or maybe because she needed to distract herself from his proximity. "We have to keep it a secret. We can't tell anyone, not our friends, not our families…"

He moved even closer, his hand sliding up above her elbow. Her breath caught. "I just… are you sure this is what you want?"

He didn't answer, just grabbed her chin, slowly lifting it up to meet him. He leaned in and kissed her.

This kiss wasn't like the others they'd shared. It wasn’t rough and reeking of desperation and pain, and desire to consume. This time his lips were gentle, caressing, like dove's wings.

"Yeah," he murmured into her cheek, having pulled away just long to look at her, really look at her. "I'm sure."

And then he kissed her some more.

After a few moments she finally pulled away, but didn't leave his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her cheek against his shoulder. Tears slipped down her face. Funny, she hadn't realized she was crying. But she was smiling too, through the tears. She couldn't have this, but she was taking it anyway.

"I, I have to go…" she whispered, not even sure he could hear her, but she felt the air rush through his chest like he was sighing.

She leaned back, and his arms slipped off. She couldn't look in those eyes, those beautiful, blue eyes. It was like falling, falling into a void she couldn't break out of.

"I, I'll see you…" Her sentence fell, unfinished. "Goodbye, Ted."

She didn't want to leave, and yet she wanted to run and keep on running until she fell off the edge of the earth. Instead she walked away, heading back toward the common room. She expected him to call after her, but he didn't. Good, he wouldn’t see her face. Wouldn't see the tears falling down her cheeks like rain. Because now that his touch was gone reality set in. This was wrong. And what's more, it was dangerous. Really dangerous. They were playing with fire. There was no doubt: they would get burned.

*************************************************************

Ted couldn’t move as he watched Andromeda leave, and even after she left. He didn’t want to leave himself, but getting caught by Filch, another teacher or, heaven forbid, a prefect, would be a rotten way to end the evening.

He should be happy. Andromeda wanted to go out with him! He'd been fantasizing about this moment for years, but he'd always pictured it differently. And he couldn't forget the way she walked away from him, like she was literally being ripped in half, like she still wasn't sure which half her heart was on. And the way her goodbye had sounded so final…  
It wasn’t the most promising start to a relationship, but it was something.


	13. chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda and Bellatrix have "heart to heart."

Andromeda moved sluggishly down the stairs. It was as if her legs moved of their own accord, dragging her forward. 

She felt like a worm had nestled in her heart and was slowly eating its way out. Her skin was on fire, yearning for him. She'd never thought lips could hurt, but hers seemed too, and all she could think about was Ted. They'd kissed each other three times now, and each one swam around her brain like a swarm of bees, or maybe butterflies. Especially the last one. If she concentrated really hard she could still taste it, the sweetness of it. Nothing had ever made her feel like that. Like she meant something, everything. She hadn't known what to think then, she hadn't been able to think until she'd gotten back to her dorm room. It was in those moments when she couldn't sleep, that she realized why she was both exuberant and terrified. She was in love with Ted Tonks. She loved that obnoxious, clumsy, bright-smiling, muggleborn.

And that's when the tears really began falling.

And now she was here. She yearned to be with him again, but the rest of her was screaming. She couldn't be with Ted Tonks. Just being seen talking with him had almost thrown her sister into hysterics. She was already under the careful scrutiny of her parents and her older sister. Right now she could only pray they never heard about her conversation with him, or they dismissed it. But if they knew she was seeing one, kissing one… She was worse than ruined. And Ted… she couldn’t even entertain thoughts of what would happen to him. She knew better than to hope for mercy. So why was she still entertaining fantasies of the two of them?

And there was Rabastan. Every time she thought of him she felt a stab of guilt, and a rush as she remembered his kiss.

She hadn't known him much growing up. She didn't associate with the other pureblood children before Hogwarts, with the exception of Sirius and her sisters, but she'd seen him. Over the years of Hogwarts, she'd watched him grow from a cheeky kid with fat cheeks to the smooth, practically god-like boy that now strutted down the halls. He'd been nice enough to her, but there'd always been something about him that unsettled her. Or maybe some corner of her brain had always wanted him, but she would never admit that. And then when he'd become her fiancé it was like facing some terrible nightmare and realizing you couldn't wake up. But the two times he'd sought her out, he'd seemed different. Not abounding in confidence, though he pretended he still was. There was a vulnerability that hadn't been there before, and it had opened something inside her.

And the way he'd kissed her, she couldn't deny she'd felt something, but it was different than what she felt for Ted. Whereas Rabastan made her feel dizzy, Ted made her feel alive. Maybe that was the key, one made her feel weak, the other made her strong. And she'd been weak enough in her life.

She gritted her teeth. She didn't want to think about this, not right now, she needed time to...

"Andromeda."

She stopped, just before she'd reached the door to the common room. Her natural extinct was to stop when someone said her name, but never like this. There was only one person who could freeze her in place like that, knowing Andromeda would never dare ignore her.

Bellatrix.

Her sister was dressed in her usual black today, and her usual boyfriend. Bellatrix Black and Evan Rosier had been going out since the end of last year, a record for her sister who usually preferred not to engage in long-lasting relationships. She didn't have patience for the clingy, slobbering boys who trailed after her like puppies and would lose interest in them after a few weeks. But she and Evan were hardly ever seen apart. Today her arm was around his neck and her leg sprawled across his hips as they huddled together on one of the larger couches of the common room. Evan's hand was on the bare skin of her leg, her long black dress pulled up just above her mid-thigh.

"Andromeda, come here."

She walked forward, not sure if she should sit on the couch or just stand. She chose standing, regardless. She didn't want to get any closer to them than she had too.  
"What is it?" She tried to keep the strain out of her voice.

Bella's eyes narrowed. "Do I need a reason to want to talk to my younger sister?"

Yes. "No, I just... you seem so serious, I thought maybe..."

"God Andromeda," Bella cut her off. "Quit blubbering, it's annoying."

Andromeda's head dropped, much like it did when her mother chastised her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," Bella said a nasally voice, and Meda flinched. It was hard to believe Bella’s imitations of her had once made her laugh.

Evan chose this moment to nuzzle her neck. This time Andromeda couldn't help it, she looked away. Bella and Evan were uncomfortably, grossly intimate in public. But who was going to tell Bellatrix Black what she could and couldn't do with her boyfriend? It was suicide.

"Though you're right, actually," Bella said. "There is something I need to speak to you about."

Cold dread washed over Andromeda, but she kept her voice steady as she replied, "Yes?"

"Not here," Bella untangled herself from Evan as she stood up. "Follow me."

Evan's eyes followed her. "Do you want me to come?"

"No," Bella said, barely glancing at him. "This is a family matter."

Evan glared at Meda, like he sincerely blamed her for stealing his girlfriend, but his eyes glimmered as he said, "My, my Meda, what did you do?"

A lot of things, actually, but hopefully Bella didn’t know about most of them. If someone had seen them last night... but no, if Bella knew about any of that... she'd be able to tell, wouldn't she? It was clear from Bella's hard, cold mood that whatever she wanted to discuss, it wasn't the fashions in the latest issue of Witch's Weekly. But it wasn't the deathly calm that now came with her sister's murderous tirades either. As much as Andromeda wanted to think she was safe, she didn't really know her sister anymore, not like she used to. She followed Bella out, trying not to feel like she was walking into the fiery pits of hell.

Bellatrix didn't stop to see if Andromeda was coming. It probably never occurred to her that Meda wouldn't. Meda didn't try to talk to her sister, not even to ask where they were going. The tense silence between them stifled any hope of conversation anyway.

She tried not to think about what was coming, but her body reacted for her. Blood rushed through her ears and her heart pounded. They reached the main floor, but then her sister turned and went up another staircase. Where could she be heading? It seemed Meda's panic was getting the best of her, as she kept getting this image of Bella leading her up to the tallest tower, calling her a traitor and throwing her over the edge. But after a few more flights she turned and headed into an empty classroom.

Meda let out a shaky breath as she followed her inside. Is this what she'd come to? Her sister wanted a word and she assumed Bella wanted to murder her? She never would've imagined feeling like that when she was young, but then, there were a lot of things she never would've imagined.

The classroom was damp and musty, and the pitch-black air carried a dreadful chill. Bella muttered a spell, lighting the gas lamps scattered around the rooms, but she did nothing to alleviate the cold, forcing Meda to draw her robes tighter around herself as she tried to ignore the feeling of dampness settling on her skin.

Her sister turned to face her, but didn't speak, eyeing Andromeda through dark-lidded eyes. Andromeda met her sister's gaze levelly. If she looked away, if she swallowed weirdly or even blinked too much, Bella would know something was up.

"I've been hearing things," she said finally. The words looked like they came from the lips of a statue.

Andromeda's arms were so tense they hurt. "Oh? From whom?" Her voice shook and she bit down on her lip, praying Bella hadn't noticed.

"Narcissa.” Bella scarcely even blinked. "Among others."

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. Then this was clearly about her talking to Ted in front of the Great Hall, unless someone else had seen something. But wouldn't she mention those first, since they were more serious? Yes, she would, unless she was planning too...

"She said she saw you talking to a mudblood, is this true?"

Andromeda bit her lip, sweat lining her brow. This wasn't the time to lie, but she could scarcely utter her response.

"Yes."

Bella's eyes flashed darkly as she took another step forward. "And this was the same mudblood Amycus was complaining about, the one who didn't know how to keep his dirty mouth closed?"

Something told her this wasn’t really a question. Bella was gauging her reaction, and Meda couldn't give her any reason to suspect something was up.

"Why were you talking to him?" Bella asked finally.

"Well, I—"

"Did he threaten you?" Her sister's voice was still strangely quiet and calm; she wasn't even looking at her sister really, but staring at some vague point behind in the distance. But, if anything, this only heightened Andromeda's sense of foreboding. The storm was coming, she could feel it. "Amycus indicated his behavior was rough."

"No." She still couldn't lie, not like this.

"Did he threaten someone else? Narcissa, perhaps?"

"No."

"Did he hex you? Or place the Imperius curse on you? Because I'm running out of logical explanations." Spit flew from her mouth as she said this, clearly having reached the point she'd been trying to make from the beginning. 

If this was what Bella thought it took for her to talk to a mudblood, or muggleborn, it was a damn good thing she didn't know about the other stuff Meda had been doing.  
She didn't want to answer, but her sister was clearly waiting for something. She sighed, letting some of her fear slip into her voice and choke up her voice. It never hurt to sound broken.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't anything, I promise—"

Bella reached forward and grabbed both of Andromeda's shoulders, forcing her sister to look her in the eye. Her eyes were like firestorms, but her voice was the low rolling of thunder that followed the lightning.

"Have you seen him since then?"

Andromeda barely blinked, her eyes never leaving Bella's. "Never."

For the first time in their conversation, Bellatrix visibly relaxed. Andromeda couldn't help but feel relieved herself. She'd made it, Bellatrix had believed her, and now all that was left was too...

"How dare you be seen with him?” Bella snarled as she walked around her. “Do you have any idea what implications this puts on our family?"

"It was just a homework question," Andromeda stammered, the choking, almost desperate tone finding its way into her vocals again. "It wasn't—"

"Then don't go to a mudblood!" Bella screamed, chest heavy and eyes blazing with an almost insane glint. "You don't get it, do you? This isn't just about you; this is about us, all of us. The Black family has been an example of pureblood nobility for generations. We are the most powerful family, and we can't afford to let that crumble. It's bad enough that Sirius is in cohorts with that bloody mudblood lover, I can't have people thinking my own sister is a blood traitor too!"

Andromeda took a step back, head dropping and eyes closing as she prayed for this to be over, but it wasn't.

"It was one mistake, Bella, just one."

But it had been one mistake too many.

"One?" Bella’s nostrils flared and her shoulders rippled as she stared at Andromeda with so much disgust it was almost crippling. "I'm still trying to clean up your last mistake."

Andromeda flinched, and her voice cracked. "It won't happen again."

"Our family honor depends on it, Meda." She looked off into the dark distance again. "Especially now that you are betrothed."

And there it was. It seemed like it followed her wherever she went. Everywhere she turned someone, something brought it up. It was like running from a very persistent bludger. And Ted, she was… she was seeing someone behind her fiancé's back. She was seeing a muggleborn behind his back. That was the very definition of dishonor, but she couldn't stop, not when he made her feel the way she did. She glanced at her sister. She couldn't tell her about Ted, but she wanted to explain her fears, her uncertainties about the wedding. She couldn't tell Narcissa, she was too excited about the whole ordeal. It would crush her. But Bella, she would understand, wouldn't she? She'd always been so strong and independent…

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Andromeda jolted. Her sister must've read something on her face.

"Not exactly, I'm not sure I'm ready for this…" she struggled to find words that wouldn't make her sound like she was willfully considering going against her parents' wishes, "I'm not sure it's what I want."

"What did I just bloody tell you!" Bella hissed. "It's not about you and what you want. Marriage has never been about that. It's about bringing honor to your family."  
"I know." Andromeda stepped back. "It's just, I don't know if it's righ—

"Andromeda, listen to me." She grabbed Meda's shoulders again. Her anger wasn't blazing from her like had been before, but there was that same sense of desperation, like breathing in a bittersweet herb. "You never repeat any of this to anyone. Do you hear me? Never."

Meda stepped back, breaking her sister's grasp. There'd been a time when she'd told her sister everything, no matter how crazy or silly it seemed. She'd listen, she wasn't always polite, in fact most of the time she wasn’t. But she listened. No matter what Sirius said about Bella she'd never dreamed that Bella could be anything other than her older sister, best friend, forever. But that door had now closed, and she wasn’t sure there was a way she could open it.

"Of course not, I'm sorry I even thought to speak of it." She paused, fighting the weariness as she said the words she knew her sister needed to hear. "You're right." Then she turned her back, afraid she was going to start crying, and Bella would see her.

"Andromeda, wait." She froze, before slowly turning around, hardly daring to believe it. Hesitation lingered in her sister’s voice, and doubt in her eyes. Her sister never doubted. She never second-guessed anything. She never had any regrets. But here she was, looking willing to try. It was just a simple look in her eye and yet the whole world suddenly seemed so different to Andromeda. It was like that door creaked back open, just enough for a sliver of light to escape through.

"There's something I wanted to tell you."

Andromeda felt something lift inside, a new kind of anxiety settling in, but she kept her voice calm as she replied, "Yes?"

Her sister hesitated. Then she sighed, her hand grasping the end of her sleeve as she pulled her shirt up.

Was Bella injured, or something? Meda found herself instinctively reaching for her sister’s arm.

The door banged open and a couple stumbled in, their hair tousled and their arms wrapped around each other. They were so busy snogging they didn’t notice the Black sisters. Meda recognized the girl instantly; it was Gwenog Jones, star and captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. She turned, not blushing the way Andromeda would've; but smirking and tossing her long golden hair out of her eyes.

"Sorry mates, I—"She stopped talking, realizing who it was they had fallen in on. The boy straightened behind her, shoulders tense and eyes narrowing. Meda recognized him now, he was Cardaroc Dearbourn, a fellow sixth year. What's more, he was a Gryffindor, and a muggleborn, one who fought back.

Andromeda’s pulse raced as she prayed Bella would let this one slide, just this once. Bella whipped her sleeve down, looking positively feral and almost, well, if Andromeda didn't know her better she would've thought, fearful. But Bella wasn't scared of anything, was she?

Bella's lip curled and she whipped out her wand, stalking forward.

"You'd stick your tongue down that, Jones? Guess you really do boink any boy that breathes, don't you?"

“You’re one to talk,” Gwen snorted.

Bella pulled her wand.

Cardaroc moved in front of Gwen. "Watch it, Black,"

"Mind your tongue, slug." Bella turned on him; her nose looking curved like the most disgusting thing in the world was in front of her. "Maybe you'd like a visual representation of what you're really snogging, wouldn't you, Jones?"

"Make one move and I swear I'll—"Cardaroc began, but Bella ignored him the way one ignored an annoying dog.

“Careful.” Gwen smiled, pulling out her own wand. “Wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face.”

"Bella," Meda grabbed her sister's arms as she raised her wand even higher, "It's not worth it, all right?"

Bella shook her off, but Gwenog was already backing towards the door, "Come on, Daroc, let's go." The two of them glared at Bella as they left, and Cardaroc briefly glanced at Andromeda. His look was by no means friendly, it was almost wary, like he was trying to figure her out. But a moment later Gwenog shut the door and they were gone.

"Bella," Meda started, when her sister still hadn't said anything, still wouldn't look at her. "Bella, listen to me. I had too."

"How did you become so weak?" she burst out, pulling out of her sister's reach. "You were raised better."

Meda stopped reaching for her sister, feeling suddenly feeble and useless.

"You know what you are?" Bella laughed humorlessly. "Pathetic, and that's all you're ever going to be."

Then she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. The almost earsplitting crack hit Andromeda like a stone wall. She stood in silence for a moment, the shock rendering her motionless. Tears began to fall, but she didn’t notice, almost like she couldn’t process them. She would've stayed there for a long time, all day maybe, but that wasn't a choice. She had classes today. She didn't want to make a habit of being late, or, heaven forbid, missing classes.


	14. chapter 14

"You're staring at Andromeda again."

"Am I?" Ted said, distracted, then he quickly looked away. "I mean, no I'm not."

Olivia snorted. Ted sighed. He hadn't slept last night, and he was exhausted. He'd cycled through everything that had happened between him and Andromeda, finally ending on the kiss they'd shared, her promise that they could be together. He'd let himself drift on that thought, but then the image of what she'd looked like when she left, all distraught and conflicted, and what it meant to be dating a Black came swirling back and suddenly he was hyperventilating and then the whole process started all over again.

He'd dressed quickly and run down to the Entrance Hall, waiting for her to come up from the dungeons to breakfast, but she never did. He'd checked their spot by the lake but she wasn't there either. He didn't feel right eating there without her so he'd been forced to actually eat at his house table, all the while casting sidelong glances at the Slytherin table and earning himself a few nasty stares from the students there, but she'd never shown. He'd practically run to Charms, knowing he'd see her then, but she'd completely ignored him. She'd sat in the far corner, opposite of him, and never even glanced in his direction no matter how many times he tried to get her attention.

He'd thought about trying to catch her between classes, but something about her attitude made him hesitant. Or maybe he was just bitter. If she was going to ignore him he was going to ignore her. Hadn't exactly worked out though, even in the foggy potions classroom she was still the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, and he longed to push those beautiful curls behind her eyes and have her look up and smile at him the way she done before things had gotten—complicated.

"Can't exactly blame him," Jake said. "She is stunning." Ted smirked at how closely Jake's thoughts mirrored his own, except he never would refer to Andromeda as merely, stunning. More like breathtaking, or ravaging or…

"And taken," Olivia added. "I heard she was going out with Rabastan."

Lorie sighed. "I hate her already." She lifted her head from where she was sprawled out on the desk and added; "You sure they're going out? I heard they were just shagging."

Jake made a face at Ted over his cauldron, which Ted did not reciprocate. Normally they wouldn't be able to get away with talking like this while Slughorn was here, but he'd come down with something and asked Flitwick to fill in for him. That had been a joke. Flitwick had set them on one of the simplest potions in the book and they'd all finished with 15 minutes and started going a bit wild. He'd tried to get them to study, but after a while he'd just given in, so they were enjoying the first free period they'd had since third year.  
"Why do you care so much?" Ted said, glaring at Lorie. It wasn't really her fault he was so edgy, but he wasn't exactly eager to discuss what may or may not be going on between Meda and Rabastan. It made him feel like his insides were on fire.

"Because he's fit,” Olivia put in, like it was obvious.

Lorie sighed again. "They all are. Why do the Slytherin boys have to be so damn sexy?"

Now this was really too much for Ted. "First, I'm sexier,” Olivia rolled her eyes, “and second, he's an arse."

"Didn't he call you a mudblood the other day?" Jake said.

"Yep," Ted said, leaning back on his chair.

"Why?" Olivia asked, almost sounding like she didn't want to hear the answer.

"’Cause I freakin' ran into him while he was freakin' making out with his stupid girlfriend."

"Andromeda?" Lorie asked, sounding uncharacteristically gleeful about this, especially when she had just professed to hate the girl.

"Was it an accident?" Olivia said.

"Yes," Ted replied, a little too quickly.

Olivia smirked, looking like a fox about to catch the rabbit in her trap. "Are you sure?"

"Didn't you partner up with her one day?" Lorie said, feeding into what Olivia was doing.

"He did," Olivia said, her eyes flashing.

"Yeah, he made me partner up with Susannah, so she'd be forced to partner up with him," Jake said. Ted gave him his best murderous stare. Jake had promised he'd never repeat that, and he'd completely sold Ted out, left him to Liv's and Lorie's mercy. This betrayal ran deep.

"Why?" Lorie asked, her voice breathless, like she could barely wait to hear the answer.

Ted had been backed into a corner. He was still glaring at Jake as he said, "’Cause she ran into me in the hall and then freaked out when I touched her skin handing her books back. We had unfinished business."

"Uh-huh," was Olivia's only response. Ted gave her a sharp look. In addition to being her former boyfriend, they'd also been best friends since first year. He knew her well enough to know she was holding something back. She wasn't a blabbermouth like Lorie, but she spoke her mind, always. She looked up at him and he bit his lip, swallowing. He hated the way she'd always been able to look right through him. This wasn't the end of this conversation, that much was clear.

"Isn't that the day you got in that row with Amycus?" Jake's question startled both him and Olivia out of their moment, for which Ted was grateful.  
"Yep," he said, not really in the mood for any lengthier explanations.

"God Ted." Liv groaned, leaning back in her chair. "Why do you have to go around antagonizing them all the time?"

"’Cause they're pricks who deserve antagonizing."

"Can we get back on track?” Lorie asked. " We were discussing whether or not miss prissy was with Rabastan or not?"

Oh god, not again. "Didn't we establish they were bastards?" Ted said, venom saturating his words. "They hex people for fun, Lorie."

"And there's something about that whole bad boy complex that just gets me jittery inside," She smirked. "Rodolphus too."

Ted rolled his eyes, not sure how much more of this he could take. He glanced around the room. He dared not look at Meda again, even though his body was screaming for it. His eyes wandered over to another Hufflepuff girl, Teresa, who happened to look up at this particular moment. He made a face at her and she grinned appreciatively before returning to her group of friends. Teresa sometimes hung out with them, but lately she'd been spending a lot of time with Susannah. Teresa was the queen of sweet people. She hung out with whoever needed a friend the most, and once she'd built them back up, she moved on to someone else. She'd been there for Lorie when her brother had gotten cancer, and now she was there for Susannah. Ted couldn't help but wonder if she was on this ridiculous Rabastan hype or not. He hoped not, otherwise he really would gorge his eyes out.

"You realize," Jake said, turning toward Lorie, "that if you ended up with either or them they would tear off your breasts, roast them, and season them with your entrails?"

Ted and Liv exchanged glances at this, lips tight and eyebrows raised, but Lorie merely exhaled wistfully. "I know, that's part of what makes them so sexy."

Ted glanced at Liv, who merely rolled her eyes and looked away. He held back a snort, but he also couldn't help staring curiously after her. He figured Liv wasn't stupid enough to moon over Rabastan, or anyone like him, but she had called him fit earlier. And he'd heard her giggling with the other Hufflepuff girls about him when they thought the guys weren't listening. Something about that made him uncomfortable. He couldn't stomach the image of Liv and Rabastan together any more than he could stomach Meda with him. What did that say about him? She was his ex-girlfriend, and he'd only dated her about six months. He hadn't thought about her that way in a long time, but still… Maybe he was just protective. Any guy would be of his best friend, right? That better be it. His love life was complicated enough as is. And speaking of his love life…

The bell rung, and the students around him picked up their bags. And who was making a beeline for the door? None other than the mysterious Andromeda.

"Hey, I'll catch you guys later," he muttered, shoving his books into his bag. Screw his 'you ignore me, I'll ignore you' game, she wasn't sneaking away from him again today.

Ted almost knocked over a few students in his haste to get to Andromeda, including a few Slytherins, who hissed as he sped past them.

He finally caught Andromeda just before she'd reached the staircase.

"Hey," he said, reaching for her shoulder, but she whipped out of his reach and stood to face him, looking mutinous, or maybe murderous. She shook her head briskly as she backed away from him. He retracted his hands, trying to stifle the lump that was developing in his throat. She cocked her head sharply to the side twice before taking off down the stairs. She'd almost reached the bottom when he realized she wanted him to follow her. He did, muttering under his breath. What the hell was she doing? This had been her idea in the first place, he hadn't even asked her. The fact that he wanted too was beside the point.

Finally she led him to some random empty room. He'd never appreciated how Hogwarts had so many of them, but they seemed to be saving his butt lately. Except this one was barely bigger than a broom closet, which sucked, until he realized how close it forced Andromeda to be to him and it became his best friend.

Not that she was in the mood to snog, she looked like he'd just tracked dog poop over her new Turkish rug. But she wasn't the only one; he had his own score to settle.  
"So are you done pretending I don't exist? Or are you just taking a break?"

But Andromeda wasn't listening.

"What the hell are you thinking, Ted?" She hissed, spit flying. "You can't talk to me in public like that."

"Ted?" he repeated, "Huh, so you actually did remember my name, I wasn't so sure."

Her mouth closed abruptly, audibly, as she closed her eyes shook her head and said through clenched teeth, "Ted—"

"I was beginning to think that I had actually turned invisible, only everyone else could see me so I knew that wasn't the case."

This wasn't how he'd pictured their reunion. There was no, 'whoopee, we finally get to be together.' But now that he was in stride, he just couldn't stop.

"Ted I—"

"Do you make a habit of this? Kissing guys and then ignoring their existence, ‘cause it's kind of like the kid version of a one night—"

"Damn it, Ted!" She screamed, forcing him to be silent. "Why can't you just listen for once?"

He took a step back, feeling strangely small and skinny. "I'm sorry." He apologized, for the first time. What had she done to him? He'd never apologized for anything before in his life. But she was right.

Andromeda seem to relax a little, the tightness had disappeared from her shoulders and neck and she no longer looked like a hungry bear about to demolish him. "No, I'm sorry, I just… I really want this to work."

"Yeah," Ted chuckled nervously, glad that she seemed to have forgiven him so quickly. "Me too."

A stiff silence fell between them. Ted smacked his lips together as he tried to keep from staring at Andromeda's mouth. He was painfully, agonizingly aware of her proximity. It was impossible, but he swore he could feel the heat coming off her skin. She blushed under his stare, opening his lips to say something but instead looked away from him, focusing on his chest.

He folded his arms around his chest because he couldn't stand the emptiness. He wanted, needed to wrap her in his arms. Assure him that this was real, really real. Andromeda Black was his, all his…

"What’s going on between you and Rabastan?"

He’d asked her this once before and she’d refused to answer, but everything Liv and Lorie had said was burning around inside him. And as much as he wanted to hold on to his own moments with Andromeda, he couldn't get her kiss with Rabastan out of his head, couldn't forget the way she'd melted into him. Huh, imagine that. He couldn't forget the worst moment of his life.

Andromeda sighed, taking a step away from him. "It's… difficult to explain."

That was not what he wanted to hear. 'difficult to explain' was synonymous for 'complicated,' and no guy wanted to hear that about the guy his girlfriend made out with. Ughh... even in his head it sounded horrible.

"Try." He ran his hands roughly over his own elbows to keep from reaching out and grabbing something and shaking it, most likely Andromeda.

"We're…" she seemed to be struggling to find words, "our parents want us to be together, and Rabastan at least is trying to appease their wishes."

Ted raised his eyebrows. Her story made sense, but it seemed like there was something she wasn't telling him. Uncharacteristically he decided not to pursue it.

"And you're not?" he asked instead.

She gave him a scathing look, well, have scathing, half…

"I'm here, aren't I?"

He smirked, he couldn't help it. "You sure are."

And just like that, they were right back where'd they started, unconsciously leaning in, lips softening as they closed the distance…

"So what are you going to do about it, Rabastan, I mean?"

Ted you idiot! His mind seemed to scream as Andromeda leaned back, looking flustered. What the hell are you thinking? He couldn't help but agree with his mind, he had the worst timing. But he couldn't just let this go. Regardless of what Andromeda said or did Rabastan was always there, like an overly attractive dung beetle Ted wanted to squish with his feet but couldn't.

At least, not yet.

"I… I'll end things, but I can't do it right away." She sounded pleading, her eyes wide, "It'll take time. Is that… is that all right?"

No. Of course it wasn't. It wasn't anywhere near all right, but he wasn't going to fight her on it, not anymore. Maybe he was too tired, tired of waiting more like, Andromeda was so damn close…

"I… I need to go, I promised—Narcissa I would meet her for lunch. But I'll… meet me in our spot. All right? Midnight."

Ted was still stuck on the leaving part, but maybe it was best. He needed time to think this all over. "All right."

"All right," she said again, blushing. She turned to leave, and then hesitated, her shoulders rising and falling. Then before he had time to blink she whirled around, stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. He met her warm, brown eyes before she left, the door clanging loudly behind her.


	15. chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda and Ted attempt a clandestine meeting, but are interupted.

Andromeda was going to kill peeves. She'd even planned how to do it. There was this spot up in the astronomy tower that was supported only by a beam with a very thin connection. A simple spell would be able to break it, and then all she would need to do was get Peeves in the perfect spot at the perfect time and wham! It was the perfect plan.  
Except that Peeves was a poltergeist, so he couldn't actually be killed. And that ruined the perfection.

  
She sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead as she made her way to the sixth floor. She was a little stressed out. Okay, she was extremely stressed, and distracted, which was why she hadn’t been paying attention until Peeves dropped a suit of armor at her feet. She'd screamed and fallen into the vanishing step on the fourth floor, and she'd only just managed to avoid the caretaker while Peeves stood their cackling the whole time. She'd almost run back to her dorm room instead of continuing to the seventh floor, but she hadn't seen him since last night. And it was killing her.

  
Ted had met her at their spot by the lake last night, and she'd explained their plan. There was a knot in the tree by the lake, behind which there was a sliver of a gap, just big enough for a piece of paper. They would take turns placing a piece of paper there with the room they would meet in that night.

  
"That way no one can catch onto what we're doing or walk in on us," she'd explained to him, trying not to get distracted by, well, him. He leaned against the tree like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be meeting a girl in secret, at midnight, under a tree. And who knew, maybe for him it was. It occurred to her that she still didn't know that much about him, not really.

  
"And we can also communicate better this way. For example if I have a lot of homework and I won't be able to meet you I don't have to tell you in person…" She trailed off, noticing his raised eyebrows, and she could tell he was fighting back a smirk.

  
"You think it's a rubbish idea, don't you?"

  
He chuckled, straightening as he took a step toward her. "No, I just think you're way overthinking this. It's like we're, secretly plotting to take down the whole world.”  
We are, she wanted to say. "If you think it's not necessary then I suppose we could find another way. I just don't think…"

  
But Ted grabbed her arm and kissed her, cutting her off. She gasped for a moment, and then let herself melt into it. "It's fine, Meda." He grinned. "Though actually, I really just want to snog you too much to fight you on it."

  
She probably should've been mad at him about that. The only problem was, she really wanted to snog him too.

  
It'd been sweet. Short, but sweet. Kissing Ted was like breathing after being underwater for an eternity. It was like her whole body was singing. It was living. And leaving was like dying, not because she wasn't with him anymore, although she hated that part too. The worst part was remembering everything she forgot when she was with him. Remembering the weight, the lies and secrets that were threatening to crush her, which sometimes felt so realistic she had trouble breathing. Remembering there wouldn't be a happily ever after. Being with Ted was killing her, but she couldn't bear not seeing him again. She was running in circles. And eventually it was going to break her.  
Which was why when she finally reached the classroom, her nerves felt like a rope that been run over with a reduction spell.

  
Ted was already there.

  
She closed the door behind her, blinking. She always beat him places, as he was always running late. Apparently, her delay had cost her more time than she thought. He straightened immediately upon seeing her, his eyes taking in her dark, sheer night robe. She blushed, immediately feeling self-conscious. It wasn't exactly the most flattering robe, but Ted didn't seem to notice. His gaze made her feel like it always did. Hot under the skin, open, and entirely more beautiful than she deserved.

  
"I was starting to think you weren't coming," he said, and she could hear the raw edge in his voice. "I mean, I did beat you here, right?" He smiled weakly, but his heart wasn't in it. His fingers were twisting by his side and he was rocking unsteadily on his feet. They seemed to be gravitating toward each other, but neither was willing to close the gap themselves.

  
She cleared her throat, which sounded far too loud in the silence. What was she supposed to do now? They'd never really done this before. Well, never quite like this. They'd met each other in secret before but that had been different, somehow…

  
"Oh, what the hell," Ted said, and then he rushed forward, slipped his hand around her waist and kissed her.

  
Andromeda couldn't help it, she giggled. She hoped he never outgrew his habit of grabbing her and kissing her in the most awkward of moments.

  
"Wish you would've thought of that sooner," she murmured, "We've already lost time."

  
"Then shut up," he said, his hands sliding up her back.

  
She would, in a moment.

  
"I missed you," she said, her voice sounding cute and girly.

  
"Seriously Meda," he groaned between kisses, "shut up." Then his lips came down harder, and she did. Her hands reached up around his neck, pulling him down into her. He responded by tightening his grip on her shoulder blades while the other hand grabbed her hip and led her backward. She felt a sharp stab as her back smacked against the desk, but she didn't stop. Ted's hand slipped gently under her hip and lifted her up so she was sitting on the desk. Her legs seemed to naturally part and before she realized what had happened she'd wrapped them around him, forcing him to her. She gasped, shuddering under the feeling of this new level of closeness. She arched up into him, wanting to savor him, savor his touch. He moaned underneath her, his hands finding her thighs.

  
The door burst open.

  
Her lips fell away from Ted's and her hands slipped clumsily around his neck to keep from falling. A moment later she pushed him away. She had a half-second to remember what was going on, and the other to be completely terrified. This was her worst nightmare, this was... never mind, it was just bizarre, and awkward.

  
Of all the people to walk in on them, it had to be the Gryffindor prefects. The fifth year Gryffindor prefects. As in Remus Lupin, and... what was her name? Oh yeah, Lily Evans.  
Lupin raised his eyebrows, and there was a light in his eye, like something had clicked. But otherwise he gave no sign that there was anything… off about what he'd walked in on.

  
Lily, on the other hand, looked like she'd just walked in on a bunch of trolls doing the can-can, or something. Her jaw dropped lower than her collar and her bright greens eyes widened until they represented oversized green opals, at least, that was how Ted described them later.

  
If only Meda could command her cheeks not to blush, but they were positively scalding. She glanced over at Ted and he returned her look with eyebrows raised. Clearly, he didn't know what to do any better than she did.

  
"Students aren't supposed to..." Lily leaned back, her eyes pinching at a crooked angle and her upper lip quirking. She was clearly trying to avoid something, but Andromeda could see her caving.

  
"Aren't you Andromeda Black?" she finally blurted out. "As in Bellatrix Black's little sister?"

  
It was kind of funny, Lily said Bellatrix Black the same way Bella often said mudblood or slug.

  
"I— well, yes,” Andromeda stammered, glad her mother couldn't hear her talk that way. But then, given the circumstances, it was probably a good thing her mother was miles away, out of hearing and seeing range.

  
"But, but he's, but you're..." Andromeda didn't think she'd ever seen the fiery Gryffindor girl at a loss for words. The retorts were usually at the tip of her tongue. It was refreshing.

  
Lily Evans was everything pureblood's worst nightmare. A Gryffindor, a girl, a muggleborn, and brilliant to boot. She was every professor's favorite student, including Professor Slughorn. And she was a firecracker. She never broke the rules, but neither would she back down from a fight. She wielded her Prefect badge like a badge of honor, and acted like she was the general of a grand army crusading against elitism, and she handed out detentions the way Professor McGonagall handed out homework. You couldn't so much as slip the word mud— and she was in your face snarling and threatening all kinds of punishments. So Andromeda wasn't about to cry over her sudden speechless...

  
“Are you trying to get him killed, Black?”

  
Apparently, she’d spoken to soon.

  
“Or are you so much of a slut that—“

  
“Hey!” Ted cut her off. "That's my girlfriend you're talking to."

  
"Girlfriend?" Lily spat like it was a disgusting swear word. "What are you guys like, a couple now or something?"

  
Clearly, she didn't really believe it, but when neither of them said anything...

  
Her eyes narrowed and her pupils dilated. For a second, she reminded Meda of a tigress. A really hungry, really angry tigress.

  
"Oh come off it Tonks, don't you know who she is?" Lily asked, like he somehow didn't. "She doesn't care about you."  
"Lily," Remus said, stepping out of the shadows. "That's enough."

  
She whirled on him. "What did you say?"

  
"I said that's enough." He repeated, his voice polite, but with an edge to it.

  
"What, are you on her side or something?"

  
"I just think you're being a tad bit thick." Only he could say that without it being an insult. Well, sort of.

  
Lily’s skin went from red to white in half a second. "I'm thick? I'm thick?" Her voice rose about three octaves. "How about the prat who's become the...bagboy for the queen of—"  
"Prat?" Ted interrupted, chuckling darkly, but his flared nostrils showed the humorlessness of it.

  
"Well you are!" she practically shouted. "You deserve better, you know that."

  
"Maybe I don't want better," he said, or snarled. "Or maybe what I have is damn good enough.

  
"She doesn't care about you!" Lily took a step forward, forcing Ted to look at her. "And she never will."

  
“And you wonder why we don’t like you,” Andromeda said. All eyes swiveled to her.

  
“What?” Lily said, or more spat.

  
Andromeda swallowed. She’d never spoken to Lily Evans before, for good reason, but there no going back now.

  
“This is why… this is why we don’t like you. The Slytherins. You never give us a chance.”

  
Lily’s eyebrows rose toward her hairline. “I never give you a chance?” She laughed humorlessly.

  
“No, listen.” Ted said in a soft, husky voice as he looked at Meda over his long-eyelashes, "Tell her how you really feel."

  
"Yeah, Andromeda," Lily mocked, her eyes flashing. “Tell me."

  
Meda forced her voice to remain steady. "I'm not my sister."

  
"Sure look like her," Lily said.

  
"But I'm not," Meda repeated, her force stronger. "Have you ever seen me do anything she does?"

  
"No, but I might as well have." She stalked forward, glancing over Andromeda's all too revealing nightgown, Andromeda subconsciously folded her arms tightly over her breasts and squeezed her legs together. "How many times have you see her ‘do things’ and told her to stop?" She paused, cocking her head as she pretended to mull over the question, then she held up her finger. "Oh, I know. Never." And suddenly the snarling tiger was back. "You've been there right by her side. You could have told her to stop but you didn't."  
"I know," Meda said. "I'm sorry."

  
"You're sorry?" Lily repeated, "Tell that to Mary Macdonald...”

  
"Lily!" Ted shouted, raising his hands like a conductor silencing his orchestra. "Seriously, enough of this. I appreciate your concern but it's not really any of your freaking business."

  
Only he didn't say freaking. Meda blushed and looked away, and that's when she noticed Remus wasn't paying attention to what Lily and Ted were saying, he was watching her.  
She had never really noticed this before, but Remus was quite handsome. His pale skin had once made him look sallow, but now, combined with his tall frame it gave him a sophisticated, almost regal look. But what really caught her attention was his warm brown eyes. There were staring at her with a sort of detached interest, the way one might study a bird outside their kitchen window or a bowtruckle twittering as it busied itself around an old oak tree. But there was concern there too, he was waiting for something, and he was worried that it wasn't happening.

  
But Lily wasn’t done. She whirled on Andromeda. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do to him?”

  
“I don’t care,” Ted said before she could reply.

  
Lily stared between them, looking like she desperately wanted to say something else, but instead she sighed. "Fine, but you know if you get caught, she’s not the one who’s going to have to pay for it.” She glanced at Ted again, almost pleading. “If she really cared about you, she wouldn’t put you in this position.” She started out the door, then stopped, turning around.

  
“And you are breaking school rules by being here. I won’t write you up, for obvious reasons.” Andromeda let out a sigh of relief, even though she’d never really been worried that Lily would spill their secret. “Just don’t let me catch you again.”

  
She gave them all one last disgusted look before heading toward the door, mumbling under her breath as she left.

  
“Have a lovely night, you two.” Remus gave them a smile before following after her.

  
She and Ted stood there in silence for a while. Meda had no idea what to say to him, not after... that.

  
"I need to go," Meda said, partly because someone needed to say something, and partly because she did. She needed to get out of here, now. "It's getting late and I've still got studying..."

  
"I know it's not true." Ted said softly.

  
"What?" she said.

  
"What Lily said." His voice was barely more than a whisper and he was staring at the ground, but then he looked up. "I know it's not true. I know you're not like the rest of them." He ran his hand through his hair again and looked at the wall, his jaw clenching. "What I mean is..." His hand dropped as he looked back toward her, then it all came rushing out. "You're not who she says you are, not anymore, I know that now and I, and I just… Can I just kiss you goodbye or something? Cause I'm not really good with all this, gross romantic stuff.”

  
"Gross romantic stuff?" Meda couldn't help but chuckle. "That's charming."

  
He grinned. "That's me."

  
"You're ridiculous."

  
"You think I'm cute."

  
"Yeah." She smiled softly. "Guess I'm the stupid one."

  
She hadn't realized it, but she had Ted had been slowly walking towards each other. He stood over her, his hand finding hers and then slowing crawling up to her elbow. He caressed it with his fingers, then looked up.

  
"Guess so," he murmured and the next thing she knew he was kissing her, a soft, beautiful kiss that left her giggling and sighing.

  
Until he left. Then she couldn’t stop Lily’s words from spinning around in her mind. If she really cared about you, she wouldn’t do this to you. Of course, she’d tried to push Ted away, warned him, but he wouldn’t listen. But Lily was right. If something happened to him, it would be her fault. And her other question, do you know what they'll do to him? The thing was, she did know, or at least, she knew enough to know she didn't want to know. Lily may have been wildly off base about some things, but about others... she was Cassandra the prophetess right before the Trojan War, knowing with certainty that her friends and family marched to their doom, yet unable to stop them.


	16. chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda tries to speak with her younger sister, before others get in the way.

"Andromeda," someone said. "Andromeda, hello, I'm talking to you."

Andromeda started out of her stupor and glanced up, eyes wide. Rita Skeeter, one of her sister's friends, was leaning across the table, head cupped in her hand, a soft smirk on her lips and her eyes wide with expectation. Gabriella Parkinson and the other fifth year Slytherin girls were leaning in eagerly as well.

"I, what, sorry, I'm..." she cleared her throat, "I apologize. My thoughts were elsewhere. What did you say?"

"I asked you," she said, while her friends giggled behind her, "if the rumors are true. Are you dating Rabastan?"

"Oh… I… well," her eyes flicked toward Narcissa. After her engagement had been announced to her sister, Andromeda had pulled her aside and asked her to keep it quiet. The thing was, she'd never actually thought her sister could do it. But if they were asking if she was _dating_ Rabastan...

"No… it's complicated." Rita said something else, but Andromeda wasn't listening. She would've thought Narcissa would've been all over this Meda/Rabastan gossip, considering how thrilled she was over the whole engagement, but she wasn't even paying attention. She seemed strangely focused on the ceiling of the great hall, which was the pretty misty blue right before a rainstorm.

Her insides lurched painfully. There'd been a time when she'd told her sister everything, and now look at them. Her life been turned upside down and she couldn't tell her sister a damned thing about it. Not a damn thing...

_"I'm in love Andromeda!" Narcissa's voice sang in her head as she recalled an old conversation._

_"With who?" Andromeda said, lying on the bed across from her. It was just hers and Narcissa's now that Bella had decided she was too grown up and demanded her own room._

_"Torin. Torin Flint? You know him, he's in my year." Andromeda nodded. She had a vague image of a tall, dark-haired boy who looked like he was permanently leering. She was pretty sure that was Torin._

_"How do you know?" she asked, partly because she was curious, but also because she knew better than to let her thirteen-old sister who had just hit the pre-woman years get going._

_"I can just tell," she said with a sigh, collapsing on her bed like it were heaven itself enfolding her._

_"You get this feeling. It's magical… it's… you know what it is? Oh wait, you don't. You've never been in love."_

_Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Cissa."_

_"Oh come on, I didn't mean it like that. You'll find someone someday." She placed her hand dramatically over her heart. "I can feel it."_

_"Sure."_

_"I mean it, Andromeda." Narcissa said, her smile softening into something more pleasant. "You may not be the biggest boy-magnet, but that's not really your style. You're a romantic, just like all those books you read."_

_"You've read my books?"_

_"I skimmed through the interesting looking ones." She said, lifting her hand-held mirror to face and beginning to twirl her hair. "And I must say that Scarlet Letter was a bore. I thought there'd be sex in it." She gave Meda a pointed look, lowering the mirror. "There was no sex." She pouted out her lips, and against her better judgment, Meda laughed._

_"I'm serious though. One day you're going to meet this totally amazing guy and he's going to completely sweep you off your feet. And then that's it. You'll be a goner." She sighed dramatically, as though she were the one getting swept off her feet. Andromeda shook her head, smirking slightly as she buried herself in her novel._

_"Just promise me something, okay?_

_"Hmm..." Andromeda replied, having already disappeared into the horrific world of Oliver Twist._

_"When it happens, I mean, when you meet the guy of your dreams. Promise you won't cut me out? Promise me I'll always be the first one you'll talk too? Promise that you'll tell me every little romantic and nasty detail?"_

_Meda laughed. Somehow, her sister made everything sound so funny..._

_"I'm serious, Meda," she said, but she was grinning. "You promise?"_

_"Yeah," Meda said, still chuckling. "Of course, every little detail is yours."_

It had never occurred to her it could be any different.

And now she was here, staring at her sister across the table, their promise lying between them...

"Andromeda? Hello, earth to Andromeda? Do you really think we're going to believe that it's just, ‘complicated’?" Apparently, Rita didn't give up so easy. "Come on, we're your friends. You have to tell us."

"Actually," Andromeda said, "I don't." She stood up. "Narcissa, I need to talk to you." She ignored Rita's indignant look as Narcissa stood up, looking surprised and a little confused. But something in Meda's face told her she wasn't just messing about.

Andromeda quickly headed toward the door, checking over her shoulder to make sure Narcissa was following her.

She wanted to head somewhere private, somewhere where no one could overhear them, But Narcissa grabbed her sleeve, whirling her around.

"I really need to finish breakfast before things get super busy. What is it?"

And suddenly Andromeda was frozen. She remembered how Narcissa had reacted to her talking to Ted, and her mouth went dry. How could she do this? Where would she even start? This was crazy! This was, she stopped herself. _Just start at the beginning,_ her inner voice commanded, _the very beginning._

"Cissa do you remember a few years ago when we were talking about... well, when we were talking about, love, I guess. You remember? You said I was going to meet this amazing guy and..."

Something was wrong. She'd said the words “love”, “amazing”, and “guy”...and sister hadn't tried to interrupt her once, because she wasn't even paying attention.

"Cissa?" she asked quietly, but her sister was staring off into... something, and didn't respond.

"Cissa, did you hear anything I just said?"

"What?" she said vaguely, her voice carrying that same faraway note Andromeda used whenever she was talking about magical creatures with Ted. "Oh, sorry, yes, of course. You were just talking about..." she paused, clearly trying hard to think of something her sister had said. She saw Andromeda's look and chuckled nervously. "Oh, Meda dear, don't get all worried, you were just saying...you were just saying..." The sentenced trailed off into awkward silence.

Andromeda heaved a sigh, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "Narcissa, I really need to talk you. It's just, things with Rabastan happened so quickly and—"

"This is about Rabastan?" Narcissa said quickly, trying to regain her usual bravado, "Why, Andromeda why didn't you say that from the beginning? So how are things going between you two?"

"They're... fine," Andromeda said, because there wasn't anything else she could say. "But it's not actually Rabastan that I was talking about..."

"Oh, he's so charming, isn't he?" Her sister sighed so dramatically Andromeda would've burst out laughing under different circumstances. "You're the luckiest girl in the world!"

This was getting ridiculous. "Narcissa, you're not listening..." But Andromeda had suddenly gone rigid, for who should have into entrance hall at that exact moment? None other than Bellatrix Black. Her heart began pounding. She looked towards Narcissa, wondering how she could possibly explain her sudden silence to her sister. But then she realized Narcissa was as still and pale as she was. She followed Bella with wide eyes, and the moment Bella stopped to look over her shoulder she hastily turned away.

"I'm sorry, Meda," She said breathlessly, "I love talking with you, but I really have to go." And just like that she was gone. Andromeda stared after where her first sister had disappeared, and then over to where her second sister had now disappeared.

It was like she had walked into some bizarre dream where everything was logical, and yet, not. She looked back down the staircase her younger sister had fled down. She'd been so focused on Ted, she hadn't really thought about her sister's strange behavior, until now. It had never occurred to her that others had secrets… that Narcissa had secrets. Apparently, she wasn't the only one with something to hide.

Andromeda was so caught up in her realizations about Narcissa that at first, she didn't notice who else had come into the hall, not until some girl bumped into her, giggling. She jolted, and that's when she saw him, and he saw her.

She didn't stop to think about what she was doing, she just took off into the crowd, trying to get as far away from there as possible. She dove around a corner and then peered around it. He was still coming, and his eyes were scanning the crowds like he was searching for someone, like he was looking for her.

She continued onward, resisting the urge to run, and went down an empty hallway. She reached the first door and yanked it, but it wouldn't budge.

She pulled out a wand, but a voice behind her whispered, "don't bother." Before she had time to jump or squeal, someone had grabbed her arm and wheeled her into an empty classroom. She exhaled as the door shut behind her, her hand over her heaving chest. Someone had pulled her in, she remembered, and that someone was…

Her relief slipped off of her face like stink sap. If she'd thought the world was upside down before, it had now moved into another dimension.

Her savior was James Potter.


	17. chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda discovers the identity of her unlikely savior.

"What the—" she started, then she just groaned and put her head in her hands. First Lily, now him— this was the last thing she needed.

"Hey Andromeda.” He grinned. “What’s happening?”

"Shh," she said. She almost slapped her hand across his mouth, but thought better of it at the last second. Unfortunately, it meant she ended up rather close to him. "He can hear you."

"Who…?" Potter started, but then he thought about it. His lips spread up into quirky, crooked smile as he ducked past her and knelt down by the door. He opened it a crack and peered through.

Andromeda threw her arms in the air. She almost screamed, but that would be counterproductive. What was he doing? She wanted to grab his collar and pull him back, but she doubted she could do that silently. And the idea of touching James Potter was… weird, somehow. It was stupid, but she felt like she'd be magically repelled if she tried.

Instead she hovered over him, heart pounding as she ran her hand nervously through her hair and shuffled her feet. Potter glanced over at her and snorted. She could have slapped him.

"Shut the door," she shout-whispered. "Shut it!"

"It's all right." He was still chortling as he stood. "He's gone."

Andromeda exhaled, one hand on her forehead and the other over her stomach. She hated losing control in front of anyone, but in front of Potter it was a nightmare. Surprisingly though, she didn't feel embarrassed, especially considering the Bat-Bogey hex rising under her wand tip, ready to be unleashed on the other person in the room.

"So, trouble in paradise?"

She shot him a glance. "That," —imagining bat wings grow out his face was immensely satisfying— "is none of your concern."

He did that thing where he held his hands up and took a step back, but this time he was smirking, and he winked at her. Clearly, he, at least, was having the time of his life.

"So, things between the two of you are hunky-dory, eh?"

Andromeda closed her eyes, slowly, wishing he'd be gone when she opened them. He wasn't. She sighed as she headed toward the door, but he blocked her way. He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer.

"They're fine." She clasped his shoulder and pushed her way roughly past him, her hand grasping the door handle.

"And how will Ted feel if he knows things between you and your fiancé are fine?"

Andromeda stopped, feeling like she'd just been hit with the Whomping Willow tree.

She turned, so slowly she probably looked like she was moving in slow motion. Her heart hammered as she saw his smug, satisfied look.

"How did you…" Then it hit her. "Remus," she whispered, then she slammed her hands on the door.

"Woah," Potter said, his look fading. "Calm down, would you?"

"He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone!"

"We don't count as anyone!" Potter's voice raised as well. He swallowed, taking his own advice and calming down. “We tell each other everything, and I mean, everything." She still didn't look convinced so he added, "Come on, it's me. I'm all for this stuff. Do you really think…?" He took another steadying breath. "Do you really thinking I'd do anything to jeopardize either of you?"

He had a point, much as she didn’t want to admit it. She pressed her hands to her face, mumbling curses. She couldn't bear to look at him, so she just gave a sort of muted nod before reaching for the door again. But just as she opened it, Potter's hand slammed it shut.

"Not so fast, sweetheart," he grinned, clearly, he recovered quickly, "I think you owe me a thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving you from a strange moment with your fiancé, with whom everything is fine."

Andromeda took a really, really, slow breath in; and then a really, really, slow breath out. There was no way anyone could be this… she couldn’t even think of the word. She didn't have time to see what Potter could or could not be. She reached around him, but he blocked her way. She stepped to the side and he stepped with her. On the third time, she shot her hands into the air and shouted;

"Fine, I'm grateful you happened to be in this hallway at this precise moment, and decided you loathed Rabastan more than me. Thank you." That was probably the most ungrateful sounding thank you anyone had ever heard, but she didn't care. "Now if you would excuse me I—"

"Wait," Potter grabbed her arm as she tried to duck around him again.

"Let me go—"

"Andromeda, would you just…" He held on as she tried to squirm out of his grip. "Look, it wasn't just a coincidence, all right?" She pulled out of his grip, barely listening as she reached for the door for what was hopefully the last time.

"I'm here because I was looking for you, and I actually followed you from the entrance hall."

Andromeda's hand froze on the handle again. She must've heard him wrong. Potter… looking for her? He avoided her like the plague. She was a Slytherin, but one he wasn't allowed to torment, which made her useless.

She looked back toward the door, almost wanting to leave anyway. Whatever he wanted her for, it couldn't be good. But curiosity got the better of her. It couldn't hurt to hear him out, could it?

Almost without thinking, she closed the door and let her hand drop from the handle. She glanced over at him, hoping this wasn't a mistake. He looked almost, vulnerable? Was that possible? A month ago she would've said no, but after the day she'd had, she couldn't rely on any of her instincts anymore.

She swallowed. "Well?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, what?"

"What is it?"

"Oh," he dropped his head, rubbing his neck, "That."

She folded her arms across her chest, waiting for him to speak.

"I, uh, I actually need your help with something."

Now it was Andromeda's turn to raise her eyebrows. Potter asking her for help was a sign of Ragnarök, she was pretty sure.

He ran his hands through his hair, and when that wasn't enough he began to pace around the tiny space, not looking at her. She wondered if he'd be able to do it, ask her for help. She was leaning toward no when he burst out, "How did you do it?"

She blinked. "Do what?"

He whirled around to face her. He was clearly trying to keep his face impassive, but his eyes were wide and there was a nervous twitch in his jaw.

"Get Ted to like you. I mean, he used to hate you right? You were a stuck up Slytherin girl whose sister was a complete and utter—"Andromeda went bright red at the word he used to describe her sister, but she decided to let it slide.

"I… I don't think I'm the person to talk to about this." She gulped. The awkward tension was nearly suffocating. "You should really ask Ted. Most of it was his doing."

"I did." Potter said, his eyes were bright and he sounded out of breath. "He said to talk to you."

Andromeda blanched. "Oh, well…" She had no idea what to say, and no idea why Ted thought she had the answers. He'd always been the one reaching out to her, and she'd been the one who pulled away.

Speaking of which… it had only been a couple of days since she'd last seen him, other than the time when they passed in the hallways and had to completely avoid eye contact. She missed him. She hadn't realized it until now, but it was an empty void in her stomach than was slowly pulling more and more of her in. She'd left a note in their spot, but she hadn't checked to see if he'd replied back.

"Is this about Lily?" She said to distract herself.

Potter gave her a withering look. "No, it's about your sister."

He didn't exactly hide his feelings for her; Lily, not her sister, so almost everyone knew about the love feud that went on between the two of them.

"Which one?" Andromeda asked, making her voice sound sickly sweet.

He tilted his head back, meeting her gaze. If she wasn't much mistaken she was a glimmer of respect flit in his features, but a moment later it was gone as he said, "Can you help me or not?"

That was a good question. She ran a hand through her hair, letting a long breath out. This was so far out of her comfort zone. Beyond that, she still had no idea what she could say. What if she gave him bad advice? She didn't want to give him another reason to despise her, but Ted had told him to come to her. Maybe it didn't mean anything, maybe he just didn't want to deal with Potter either, but it made her feel warm regardless. Someone believed she could do something, and she wanted to live up to those expectations. Or at least try to.

"Well, I'm definitely not Lily's favorite person. And the feeling's mutual," she started. "So I can't pretend to know what will speak to her, but…" She took a deep breath. "Ted believed things about me that weren't true. Things I didn't want to be true. And they made me angry but, he believed them because I didn't give him anything else to believe. Because I lived up to them. And it wasn't until..." Her voice was shaking, but she forced it to stop. "It wasn't until I started being honest with him, and myself, that he started seeing me how I wanted him to see me." She paused, seeing if any of this was making sense.

Potter was quiet. He was leaning against the wall next to her, staring straight ahead, but when he realized she had stopped talking he looked over at her. His face was unreadable, she couldn't tell if he liked her response or not, until he said;

"So, basically, when you stopped acting like a prat is when he stopped believing you were a prat."

Andromeda blushed, not sure if he was making fun of her or not. She'd never been a concise person exactly.

"So, if I want Lily to stop thinking I'm a big-headed prat, I have to stop acting like a big-headed prat."

"Yes, I suppose, maybe, I don't know." She wished she hadn't said anything, but she'd already given him the loaded gun, so there was nothing she could do.

"But I'm not a big-headed prat, she's just too thick to see that I only mess with people who deserve it."

Meda opened her mouth to take her words back, to say she was sorry, he was right, it was a stupid notion, when she realized that he wasn't challenging her. He wasn't even talking to her really, he was talking to himself.

"Maybe you're right," she said. "But if she feels that way, then you're doing something to make her feel that way."

"What?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't pay that much attention to you."

He gave her a sort of weak, half-hearted smirk. They were silent for a few moments before he got up.

"Right, well, this was… this was…" She could tell he was looking for a non-insulting word to describe their meeting. She appreciated his effort.

"This was… insightful, but I should be taking off." And now he was the one reaching for the door.

"They're not always wrong."

And now he was the one pausing, the one slowly turning around to face her.

"What are you talking about?"

Andromeda hadn't even realized she'd said something, or really that she'd said it out loud. She swallowed again, her throat feeling almost tight. "Ted, Lily, they're not always wrong about us. That there's something wrong with what we're doing. And if we really want to be with them, we have to become someone they can be with."

He looked at her like she'd just turned green and sprouted antlers, and she realized she'd probably said this all too quickly to be comprehended. She took a deep, calming breath as she prepared to try again, but then he asked:

"What if it's the other way around? What if they're the ones doing something wrong?"

She just shook her head. "You can't fix them, just yourself. And if they care about you enough, they'll meet you halfway."

She heard him breath, then he said, "I guess the difference between you and me is Ted will." And then he left, slamming the door behind him. But Andromeda barely heard his last comment. She sunk to the floor, so lost in thought she forgot where she was, or that she had class in a few moments. She wasn't really sure why she said that, or where it had come from. _They're not always wrong…_ Ted had been wrong about her, many times. " _You're not who she says you are, not anymore._ " He meant that she didn't think she was better than him, than anyone else. But he'd said something else about her once, something she'd never forgotten.

" _You just hide Andromeda, and you think if you bury your head in the sand everything will turn out all right."_

She had to blink back the moisture that was gathering in her eyes. That was what she was doing now, wasn't it? Hiding from the reality she was facing. She was never going to do anything about Rabastan— she was too terrified to. And everything was not going to turn out all right. It was like she was racing down the track toward the bridge. Only there was no bridge. Just a large, gaping hole in the earth that she would tumble off into oblivion.


	18. chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Meda go out for a midnight Rendezvous and run into someone unexpected.

She reached the third-floor room Ted had specified in his note and stepped inside. He wasn't there yet, but that wasn't that uncommon anymore. In the beginning he'd always come early. He told her he used to wait in the common room, counting down the seconds until he just couldn't stand it anymore. But not even she could inspire that kind of organization in him for very long. And the Ted that was five minutes late to everything was back.

She didn't mind really. Well, she did. It was five more minutes gone from their already limited time together, but sometimes it was nice to just be. And by that she meant to not be. Not be anything, not a student, a sister, a Black, not even a girlfriend. To just breath.

Someone grabbed her around the waist and she screamed.

"Shh… shh, Meda you can't scream." Ted said, he sounded a little winded, but he was chortling a bit too. "You're going to wake-up the whole castle."

Her scream turned toward a laugh, which she tried stifle. "Don’t sneak-up on me then." She turned around to face him, but stayed close enough that his arms wouldn't leave her. She let her own hands snake up to his shoulders.

"I was being romantic."

"You scared me."

"Of course I did." He grinned. "I'm terrifying."

"Yeah," she whispered, tilting her head closer. They'd done that thing again where'd then drawn closer without realizing it. He was barely a hairsbreadth away now. "That's the word to describe you." And then he was kissing her. She let her hands slide to his neck, feeling his warmth under her fingertips.

She forgot her pangs at her confusing relationship with Narcissa, her terrifying almost-moment with Rabastan, her actual terrifying moment with Potter. She even forgot her despairing notions from afterward. All that mattered was that he was here, with her. She wanted every moment to be like this. Ted might've agreed, except he was Ted.

"Seriously though," he said between kisses. "You've probably alerted Filch to our whereabouts. I bet we only have seconds left…"

"Ted," Meda said, "be quiet."

He started to chuckle, but Meda pressed her lips tightly against his, which stopped him.

Finally, after a long while that was still impossibly short, they pulled away.

"Well, I missed you too," he said. She smiled, letting her head dropped as she examined their intertwined hands, gently running her finger over his wrist.

"But seriously," he said again. "We should get out of here."

Andromeda's head flicked up. "Where would we go?"

"That," he said, flicking hands and grabbing both her wrists, "is a surprise." Then he turned and, one hand still on hers, and wheeled her toward the door. She let him take her, rolling her eyes as she did. When she caught up to him she placed a hand on his arm, gently stroking the soft skin between muscle and bone.

"So," he said once they were out in the hallway, "how are you?"

Andromeda thought about her breakdown earlier.

"All right," she said. "I had an interesting conversation with Potter, however."

Ted coughed, Andromeda shot him a glance.

"Oh yes, thank you for that." She bumped his shoulder.

He chuckled. "Come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"It was," —she decided to choose her words carefully—"better than expected." She was silent for a moment as she decided how to phrase this next question.

"Ted, why did you…" She took a deep breath. "Why did you tell him to talk to me?"

Ted's hand slipped out of hers and into the pockets of his robes.

"I don't know, you're a girl, Lily's a girl." He gave her a crooked smile. "I figured you would know how to handle this better."

"Ted." She stopped walking. "What was it really?"

He stopped as well, and after a moment's hesitation looked at her over his shoulder.

"You got me to listen to you, even when I didn't want to. I figured you could do the same for him. I mean." He attempted to laugh. "If anyone could get him to, it would be you."

She smiled at little, shaking her head and resuming walking. She hadn't thought of that, and it was a nice sentiment, but it still seemed… incomplete.

"Is that…" she swallowed, "the only reason?"

Ted sighed, but remained silent. For a moment she thought that was her only answer, then he said, "You made me see who you really were, and I figured you could teach Potter to do the same."

"Is that what I did?" Her voice was quiet and hollow.

He took her hand again. "It sure was. You can be pretty fierce when you want to. It's actually kind of frightening."

Andromeda adjusted her hand so her palm was pressed against his, enjoying the warmth that was spreading out through her body. She was so caught up in it, she didn't notice where they were going until they reached the doors.

She froze. "Are you taking us outside?"

"That's where the surprise is.” Ted reached for the door, but Andromeda still wouldn't move.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

His eyebrows pinched together and he cocked his head. "Why not?"

"Well… it's just so open, what if somebody sees us…"

"And there you go again." Ted placed his hand on the door, leaning against it. "You always worry too much." He straightened, taking both her hands again. "Sometimes you need to just live."

"But—"

"It'll be fine, all right?" His hands moved down to her wrists. "Trust me."

She remembered the first time she'd looked at him, how he'd reminded her of the sun. It still held true.

"All right."

"Wait." He blinked. "That worked?"

Andromeda was caught off guard. "Should it not have?"

"It's just, I've only ever heard that line used in movies." He gave her a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his neck like he was nervous. "It's what the hero says to the heroine right before they jump off the train that's derailed and heading for a cliff, or something."

"Are you leading me towards a cliff?" she teased, though she couldn’t help but shudder at the way his thoughts mirrored her own earlier, when she’d compared their relationship heading toward a cliff with no bridge, only dark, empty space.

He shook his head, hiding a smile. "No." He opened the door and took her again, and this time she let him lead her outside.

Cold autumn air rushed over her, and she forgot about her worries. It was worth it to be out here, where there were no restrictions. It felt free.

Ted seemed to notice, his hand moved to her waist as he guided her forward.

"What's a movie, exactly?" she asked.

"You don't know?"

"I've heard the word before," she said, feeling defensive. "But I don't really understand it."

"Tell you what," he said, turning to face her. "I'll show you one sometime, it'll be easier than explaining it."

"Is it… safe?"

He laughed. "I'll answer that question after… our date."

Date? She whipped her head forward. She'd almost guessed they'd been heading for their spot, but she hadn't noticed the blanket. Or roses. Or wine glasses. Or candles.

"Ted," she said, "what’s this?"

"The other day you said you wished we could be a normal couple." He moved so he was standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "Now, maybe we can't, snog in the hallways or sit by each other in Quidditch games, but I don't see any reason we can't still go on dates. As long as we take certain precautions, of course."

"Ted," Andromeda breathed. "This is… Oh my… this is amazing. How did you…"

"Let's just say I actually had a reason to be late this time." He moved again, this time so he was in front of her. "And it pays to be friends with the house-elves."

Andromeda was speechless, she couldn't help it. And did she smell cinnamon? Were those candles cinnamon-scented? He remembered she liked cinnamon?

He held out his hand, bowing slightly. "Shall we?"

She took his hand, giggling as he led her to the blanket and helped her settle down. Then he served the both of them.

"It's just Butterbeer with Sherri's floating ice cream," he explained. "I didn't think a full-blown meal at midnight was appropriate." Then he raised his glass. "Too us?"

"Too us," she mirrored.

It didn't take them long to finish, but neither felt like letting the evening end. Which was how his head ended up in her lap while she absent-mindedly stroked his hair. His eyes were closed, but she had no idea if he was awake or asleep.

She didn't want to disturb him if he was. She knew they should be heading inside, but things were so peaceful. Besides, she really didn't mind not getting a lot of sleep.

"You know I've been trying to get up the nerve to talk to you, for about, two years?"

Meda glanced down. Ted's eyes were open now, and he was staring at her with an almost wistful look on his face.

"Really?"

"Yep," he said, stretching his arms but remaining perfectly relaxed in her lap as he stared out across the lake. "I kept imagining all the creative ways I could strike up a conversation with you, and then when you hit me in the hall it was like, whamo, destiny."

"Destiny." She pressed her lips together. She didn't like the way that word felt in her mouth.

He looked up at her. "You don't think it was destiny?"

I think…" She was silent for a moment. "I think I don't understand why."

"Why what?"

She took a deep breath, "Why me?"

He sat up. "You want to know why I liked you?"

She shrugged.

He shifted his weight so he was sitting next to her, staring out at the lake like it held old memories.

"I used to watch you in class, I mean at first it was because you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, but you would do this thing when you would just disappear inside yourself. I could tell wherever you were, it was far away from all of this. Beautiful, magical. I suppose the way we all imagined Hogwarts before we come and discovered reality." He paused, his eyes searching her while she avoided his gaze.

"I knew you were different, from the moment I saw you." He chuckled a little, almost like he was embarrassed. "I used to picture that you were, that you were some secret exotic warrior just waiting to break free and fight against the evil Purebloods." He paused, glancing over at her, "I guess I wasn't so wrong, huh?"

She met his gaze. His blue eyes were brighter than she'd ever seen them, practically glowing. His lips were parted slightly, like he was going to say something, but he was silent as he lifted his hand and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

She couldn't take it.

"I have to go," she stammered as she hastily stood up, tripping over her robes, but she didn't care.

"Meda." Ted stood up as well, completely thrown off but her sudden freak out. He grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving.

"What the hell—"

"I can't. I'm sorry," She hadn't realized she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips. "I can't do this, I can't."

"Meda, don't do this," he said as she tried to bolt again.

"Do what?" she choked, trying to pry off his fingers.

"Shut me out, turn off, turn away from everything." He whirled her around, grabbing her other arm, forcing her to look at him. Really, look at him. "Just tell me, tell me what's going on."

The tears fell harder as she shook her head. "You're wrong. You're wrong about me. You've got me worked up to be some grand… heroine, and I'm not, all right? I'm weak and stupid, and a hypocrite, and—" But she couldn't talk anymore, because he was kissing her.

After a moment she kissed him back. She couldn't help it. Her insides were breaking but she still wanted him, she would always want him. And his lips were so soft, pulling her in. She could taste the salt on her lips, but the taste of him made her forget that, made her forget everything.

At some point he pulled away. "What I said about you? That’s what I used to think." He slowly leaned back, so she could see him.

"But I don't think that anymore." Her breath caught, but he wasn't done.

"No, now I know."

Her hands slid, and she was falling into him, her cheek pressed against his chest. He held her, murmuring and kissing her head. She let herself cry a little longer. The pain, the doubt wasn't gone, she just forgot it mattered.

When they had dried, she took a deep breath, then said, "I thought you weren't good at this romantic stuff."

He grinned. "I just needed practice."

She smiled softly. Then straightened, glancing at her watch.

"We really need to go."

"Dammit, Meda." He groaned. "I am going to break that bloody watch."

She hit him. "A gentleman doesn't use that kind of language in front of a lady."

"My apologies." He offered his elbow, grinning from ear to ear. She felt more of the weight disappear from her chest. "May I escort you up to the castle?"

She took his offer. As they walked she mulled over what he had said. Earlier today she had felt the exact opposite. She had accepted that he was right about her being a coward, and just now she had told him he was wrong when he called her a hero. _But I don't think that anymore, now I know._ How could he have that kind of confidence in her? He'd said it with such certainty, it was like nothing he'd said to her before.

_They're not always wrong about us._

She had meant about their faults. But if someone knew your weaknesses, then they could also know your strengths. Well, he was her boyfriend, he was supposed to see the good in her. And maybe that was all he was willing to see, which was what she was afraid of. But Ted didn't lie, not to her. He always said exactly what he felt.

An exotic warrior. She never would've used those words to describe herself, but she liked them. She really liked them.

They had reached the door, but before they could go inside they heard voices.

In one second, they shot each other startled glances, and then Meda grabbed Ted's arm and wheeled him behind one of the large bushes that decorated the door.

They stayed there, hardly daring to breathe, as two people came around the corner.

It was a boy and girl, after midnight, which clearly said they were here for the same thing Ted and Meda were, except she doubted the stakes were the same if they got caught. The two of them stopped on the other side of the door. The boy pressed the girl roughly against the wall, and her giggles died.

Andromeda leaned forward, trying to get a better look. The boy looked familiar, and that's because he was. It was Rabastan Lestrange.


	19. chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda and Ted discover they are not the only ones prowling around at night, and Ted faces the consequences of his current life choices.

Her heart stopped beating. This couldn't be happening. For a moment, she thought she should be angry, but wasn't she doing the same thing?

She said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening that he hadn't seen them. But even if that prayer was answered they weren't out of the woods. They still had to get inside without him noticing, not that he was paying that much attention.

"Shh…" he said, "Shh…sweetheart, don't fight it." She froze. That wasn't Rabastan. It was Roldophus. Roldophus Lestrange. She immediately felt relieved, which was odd. It shouldn't matter to her if Rabastan was faithful or not. Caring would make her a hypocrite. Perhaps she would just rather not know about it. Yes, that made sense.

And then her pulse quickened again. Rabastan seeing them was one thing, but Roldophus was a whole different realm of terrifying. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that seriously frightened her, and now it was Roldophus and whoever his new thick-headed toy was who they had to sneak past.

Ted motioned, and the two of them darted forward. They carefully hoisted the door open and slipped inside. Ted was about to close the door behind them when he stopped, staring through the sliver he'd left open.

"Ted," Meda whispered, "Hurry, shut it."

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just, I think that's…" He looked over at her. She didn't like that look. She pushed him aside and peered through the gap herself. Rodolphus and the girl had moved so that she could see the half of them that wasn't hidden by the stone walls.

The girl had cascading blond hair that seemed horribly familiar. Andromeda didn't want to believe it, but the girl's hand gripped the corner of the wall as Rodolphus pressed harder, and she saw the large, green ring on her finger.

Narcissa.

Andromeda didn't want to see anymore, but stood, transfixed as Rodolphus lips slipped to her sister's neck, his hands grasping her robes as he pressed his hips against her. Her sister moaned, gasping under his touch. There was something about it than seemed— rough. Like he was taking more than her sister was willing to give.

Ted pulled her back and closed the door.

"Come on," he whispered, "we should go."

She turned and fled. If only she could leave what she'd seen behind her just as easily.

*************************************************************

"Mr. Tonks. Mr. Tonks wake up!"

"I, what?" He sat up, delirious as Professor McGonagall rapped her wand on the edge of his desk. "I predict that the Tornados will win the world cup this year."

Several kids laughed, but Professor McGonagall was not amused.

"Mr. Tonks, I asked you if you could name Sylvester's 7th law of biotic energy transfer." She gave him a stern look. "Not your thoughts on the world cup." Her eyes narrowed. "Can you?"

"Can I what?" Ted blinked.

"Name Sylvester's 7th law of biotic energy transfer!" She hissed, her nostrils flaring.

Ted opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He hadn't the faintest clue what she was talking about, so he settled for a sheepish grin.

She was again, not amused.

"Mr. Tonks, your grade in this class is already far lower than acceptable, I would suggest you not waste valuable class time sleeping. That is what the night is for." She took a deep breath. "Please see me after class." Then she stormed off towards the front of the classroom to resume her lecture.

As soon as she was gone Ted put his head back down. Not for him. For him nights were about meeting Andromeda, and then reliving his time with Andromeda. There wasn't a whole lot of sleeping involved.

It was a good thing Andromeda wasn't here though, he mused with a sly grin. If she found out his grades were slipping she'd probably insist they waste valuable time studying, or worse, cancel their meetings altogether.

The rest of the class dragged on, until at last, she dismissed them. Ted waited until they had all gone before coming up to her desk.

"Professor?" he started.

"Mr. Tonks, I'm concerned about you." Her strict voice sounded somewhat softer. "You've never been a top student, but you've always managed to scrape by with passable work."

"Thanks," Ted muttered, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Recently though, your grades have dropped remarkably. Not just in my class but in others as well. Now, I know I'm not the head of your house, but I feel the need to ask regardless." She took a moment to breathe. "Is there anything going on? Anything that has changed in your life recently?"

"I—" Ted started, then pressed his lips together with a grimace. He could hardly tell her what he'd been up to the past month.

Andromeda and he did not meet every day, but they came pretty damn close. After that night though, something had changed. It wasn't just snogging and giggling, they were more open than they'd been before.

At first, he'd thought his declaration had scared her off, for their first night after she was quiet. But then, there were other things on her mind.

He'd prompted her to talk to him about what they'd seen that night, but he'd expected her refusal. Even after all their time together, her family was still a subject they didn't broach.

"I just don't understand why she wouldn't tell me," Andromeda said, staring at the ground in front of her as she knotted her hands in her robe.

"Perhaps she just didn't get the chance," Ted said. He still wasn't sure he liked talking about her sisters, but Andromeda was clearly distraught.

"But she wouldn't tell me about it," Andromeda continued, "I gave her ample opportunity. I even prodded her towards it a little bit, but she still wouldn't open up."

"Because she didn't think you would approve? I mean, isn’t that why you haven't told her about us? Maybe she thinks you'll have an issue with her dating the brother of your..." He couldn't bring himself to say boyfriend, if that's even what Rabastan was, technically.

"But she's never kept something like this from me before, and I think it's because she can tell I'm not… with her, like I used to be." She looked up at Ted and shook her head, her cheeks flaming.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about them," by them, she meant her family. "It's just hard to feel like I'm losing her."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I've dragged you into this. It can't be easy keeping secrets from your family." He was reluctant to say it, but it was true, and truth needed to be said. That was one of the things he loved most about his family, they never kept things from each other.

"You're worth it," she said softly. He looked over at her sharply. She was staring at the ground. He took her hand, pressing his fingers to her palm as he ran his thumb over her wrist. Her eyes returned to him.

"You're wonderful," she said. "You know that, right?"

He allowed himself a small smile. "And you know you can tell me anything, right? Always."

She was silent then she turned to face him, she pressed her palm to his chest as her lips moved up to meet his.

"Though this is an all right alternative," he murmured into her neck. She chuckled beneath him.

“Mr. Tonks?” Professor McGonagall prompted, jolting him out of his musings. The answer to her question was yes, there was, but it was not like he could tell her.

“Uhh… no, I’ve just been… unfocused.”

Her eyes narrowed, like she could tell he’s lying. He did his best to keep a face straight, while crossing his fingers behind his back.

Finally she sighed, “If you rewrite your past three essays and give them to me, I’ll consider raising your grade.”

Great. Extra homework was the last thing he needed, but he knew better than to mention this to her.

“Thanks.” He forced a smile before slipping past her out the door. He expected his friends to be gone, but to his surprise Liv had waited for him.

“What she want?” Liv asked, peeling herself off the wall as she came up to him.

Ted shrugged. “Just wanted to talk about my work.”

Liv raised her eyebrows. “Well, you have been a little off lately.”

“Nah,” Ted waved his hand good-naturedly, grinning, just as someone came around corner. Andromeda met his eyes for only second before she blushed and looked away, but it was long enough for his heart to stutter.

You'd think he'd be used to Andromeda ignoring him in public, but it felt like someone had smacked his rib cage with a bludger every time.

“You’d better not let Bellatrix catch you staring at her sister like that,” Liv said, following his gaze. There was a joking tone in her voice, but something in her eyes told Ted she was serious.

He quickly shook his head. “I’m not—“ The look she gave him told him denial was futile.

“You think I haven’t noticed the way you pine after her?” She laughed humorlessly. “You’re lucky the rest of them think they’re too good to notice a Hufflepuff muggleborn, or you’d be in even bigger trouble.”

He knew she was just trying to make a point but her words still stung. “Yeah, thanks,” he muttered. 

His response was enough to make the half-amused smile slip off her face. She sighed. “Ted, I—“

“Did you ever think that they’re not all like that?” He stopped walking, whirling on her. He hadn't meant to say that. It just came out. “That not all of them are stuck up prats?” 

“Yes, of course.” She stopped walking as well. Clearly, she hadn't expected him to get so defensive about it.

Ted tried to avoid meeting her gaze, but her hazel eyes were just too intensive. It was like trying to avoid eye contact with a Hippogriff, you just couldn't do it.

“Maybe Andromeda isn't like the rest of them," Liv said, "but it doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” he spat. He should let it drop, but Liv was saying everything he'd been thinking over the past few weeks, and he hated her for it.

“Because she’s a Black.” He hated the way she Meda’s last name too, like it was the final, end of discussion.

“Sirius is a Black, and he’s not like them.”

“Sirius is an open blood traitor.” She folded her arms across her chest. “And he’s not Bellatrix Black’s little sister.”

Ted didn't say anything, hoping Liv would get the message and drop it. Unfortunately, she was even worse about letting things go than he was. It was one of the reasons they broke up.

“Come on Ted, do I really need to tell you what she’ll do if she discovers you're sweet on her sister?”

No, she didn’t, but he didn’t want her to know that.

“Ted. You and Andromeda can never happen."

Somewhere, some part of him knew she right, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. So instead he whirled on her and spat, “This isn’t any of your business.”

“Actually,” she stepped closer. “it is.” He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t break her gaze. “You know why? Because I know you. You don’t think, you just jump head first and assume everything will turn out all right. But you can’t, not this tim. Not with her.”

And then he did break her gaze, so she wouldn’t see the shadow that passed over his face. “All right, I got it.”

Of course he didn't, but he clearly wasn't going to win this argument, not when logic was on her side.

“Maybe if things were different.” She tentatively placed a hand on his elbow. “If there weren’t pureblood extremists threatening too—“

“I said I got it.”

She withdrew her hand, some mix of hurt and anger flashing over her features. “All right. I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you.”

Ted flushed. “And now I remember why I broke up with you. You always know how to make me feel guilty.” But he smiled, which meant she smiled. The fell in step again, walking in silence.

“So, hypothetically speaking…” he kept his voice light. He’d rather not hurt Liv’s feelings again. “Do you think I have a shot with Andromeda?”

“Course not. She’s way too beautiful for you.” He lightly punched her shoulders, and she grinned. “And you deserve someone better.”

“She may not be all that bad.” He chosen that moment to fix his sleeve so she once again wouldn’t see his face. “For all we know, we’d be great together.”

“Maybe in a perfect world,” she said with a ghost of a smile, “but this world is far from perfect.”


	20. chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda is finally forced to interact with her fiance

If she hadn’t been staring at Narcissa, she might have managed to avoid him.

How had it taken her this long to discover the truth about her sister? Narcissa was deadly quiet, barely even listening to her friends chattering around her. She scarcely ate, rather mindlessly twirling her food around her plate. Her shoulders were hunched over as she stared at the plate with such an intensity, it was as though she expected it to open up and start speaking to her. Every now and then she would glance down the row where Rodolphus was sitting with the other seventh year Slytherins. He never returned her glance, never even acknowledged her stares.

For whatever reason, the two of them had decided to keep their relationship a secret. This must have been the secret Narcissa was afraid of Bellatrix discovering. That was why she had run from the Great Hall the other day. Andromeda didn't understand this though. It wasn't as if there was anything wrong with dating Rodolphus. He was not only from a respectable pure-blood family; he was from a rich, influential, pure-blood family. And not all marriages were arranged, sometimes they were allowed to choose. And Bellatrix had her own boyfriend. Granted, Rodolphus was a bit older, but three years wasn't anything strange…

"Hello, Andromeda."

She whirled around so fast she gave herself whiplash. Rabastan was standing behind her, a crooked smile on his face.

He turned to Magdalena, one of her fellow sixth year roommates. "Would you mind scooting down a little?"

Magdalena opened her mouth as though she were going to say something, but then she merely nodded and shifted down the row without question. Magdalena had always been a quieter person, which was part of the reason why Andromeda liked her.

Except she wished, in this instance, Magdalena had resisted.

"Is it alright if I sit next to you?" Rabastan purred.

"I—"Andromeda knew she was supposed to say yes, but the thought absolutely terrified her. "Well—"

"You know, we’re going to be married someday, so we might as well get used to eating meals together." His voice was as warm and polite as ever, but there was a hard edge in it she hadn't heard before, and the smile seemed to falter ever so slightly from his lips.

She glanced hurriedly down at her plate. "Right." She cleared her throat, matching his polite tone. "Of course you may sit here."

He did, in one fluid motion, and suddenly he was uncomfortably close. She gulped, but remained fixed on her plate in front of her.

He was silent for a moment, then he asked, "How are you?"

"Fine," she squeaked, then bit down her tongue, but it was too late to do any good. She could kick herself for sounding so weak and pathetic.

Rabastan hesitated before saying, "Is that really all you have been? Fine?" His hand inched toward her wrist, gently taking her hand in his.

It was like her entire body froze, for one moment, and then came rushing back in a frenzy. She pulled her wrist out of his grip and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I— I have a lot of homework to do so, I need to get to the library before classes start." And then she turned and fled without waiting to see how Rabastan responded. She barely noticed anyone as she exited the great hall. She barely paid attention to where she was going, turning down random corridors and heading up random staircases. She just needed some space. Rabastan’s touch had been too much. It made her feel cold, laden down. Perhaps it was the guilt, of knowing while he was trying to make this relationship work she was running around with another man. It was better just to avoid him, so she could avoid the feelings of—

"Did you get lost, Andromeda?"

She froze. She'd been so focused on getting away, she hadn't looked to see if anyone was following her. And someone had. Rabastan had followed her from the great hall. His smile was gone, as was the usual bright glint in his eye.

"Rabastan! I—" She started, but she had nothing to say. She'd been caught. Though he'd probably known the library was a lie from the beginning. Still, there must be a way out of this.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of one.

"The library's on the first floor, but you knew that." He took a step forward. "Of course you knew that, because you're always there studying. The perfect student." He stopped a few feet away. "Is this really how you want to play?"

She closed her eyes, sighing internally. "Just wait—"

"One second you're all kind and flirtatious and the next you completely ignore me? I've seen you leaving the common room as soon as I get there. Blatantly running away from me hallways. So was that it? One kiss and you are ready to move on?"

"I just..." She shook her head, her nervousness choking up her voice. "I don't know what to do."

"And you think I do?” Rabatsan laughed humorlessly. “You think I don't wish there was some way out of this? You think I don't want to run and hide like you're doing? But we can't."

"I'm not—"She took a deep breath. She'd flinched when he'd said she'd run and hide. Ted had said the exact same thing to her before. "I'm not hiding, but I need time to get used to the idea, to get used to you."

He threw his hand in the air. "How much time? Someday we'll tie the knot and then bam!" He slapped his hand on his leg. "We’re stuck together for the rest of our lives. And you know we’ll be expected to attend every social gathering together from now on anyway. And we'll have to appear happy. Content. And if not in love than at least a stable home for another perfect pureblood family."

She was shocked by the venom in his voice as he said that. Most Slytherins didn't talk so… openly… about the traditions of their parents. Perhaps she was reading too much into it, but it seemed he was implying something she'd long mulled over herself. How her parents, and many others, were so focused on preserving the pureblood pride, they'd forgotten how to be a family.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Those thoughts were dangerous, more dangerous than running around with a muggleborn.

"And what do you want me to do? Force myself to love you? I tried that once, it didn't work."

He flinched at her words, his eyes growing darker as he briefly averted his gaze. She felt a stab of guilt. For though it may be true, she couldn't forget how'd she'd felt when he'd kissed her. As much as she might pretend she hadn’t liked it, it could never be completely true.

"Like it or not, Andromeda," he said as he glanced back up, his voice starkly quiet compared to their shouting from before. "This is our reality. And you can either meet me halfway as we figure out how to live this life, or I'm done." He lifted his hand, eyes narrowing as spit flew the clenched corners of mouth. "And believe me, I am this close to calling it quits with you."

His last look was half-disgusted and half something else, something she couldn't quite identify. It looked almost broken, dejected even. But before she could put her finger on it he was gone.

And that was when she saw her sister peering around the corner, clearly having heard the whole thing.

For a moment, all they could do was stare at each other, before Narcissa finally took a step forward.

“What was that all about?” she said with a nervous laugh, glancing where Rabastan had disappeared.

Andromeda sighed, her thoughts a million miles away. “I’m afraid we’re finding our engagement more difficult to navigate then we imagined.”

“But you’ll work through it, right?” Narcissa said, stepping closer.

Andromeda almost smiled. The concern in her sister’s voice was touching, especially since they’d been seemingly drawing apart. Perhaps, once again, she could tell Narcissa exactly what she was feeling, just like they used too.

“In truth, I’m not sure Rabastan and I are meant—“

“What a silly question, of course you will.” Narcissa giggled, though something seemed off about it, but Andromeda waved that aside.

“Actually, we’ve been—“

“You guys are perfect for each other.” She sighed dramatically.

“Narcissa,” Andromeda hissed, “You’re not listening,” But her sister was dancing away.

“It’s just like one your books, isn’t it? The dashing prince sweeping the beautiful princess off her feet….” She lifted a hand to her face closed her eyes, and ran her hand down the length of her cheek.

“Isn’t it?” she said again, when Andromeda didn’t immediately respond. It seems she’d finally noticed her Meda’s face, and that it wasn’t the face of princess who’d been romantically swept off her feet.

“Meda?” she said again, her voice growing timid.

Andromeda took a deep breath. “It’s not that simple, Cissa.”

Narcissa shook her head, her lower lip beginning to tremble. “I don’t understand. You’re happy, right?”

“I, well, I suppose but…”

“You are happy, aren’t you Andromeda?” Her sister’s lip stopped trembling, and her eyes grew impossible bright and she stepped forward and grabbed her sister’s elbows.

“You and Rabastan, you are happy together, aren’t you?” 

Andromeda’s words died on her lips. She hadn’t really thought about her sister’s question, _are you happy_? Come to think of, couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought about being happy. It always seemed like there were too many other things to think about.

But was she happy? She wasn’t sure, but she at least knew she wasn’t happy with Rabastan, which is what her sister meant. 

“This is what you want, isn’t it, Meda?” Narcissa could barely even whisper, her voice was so tight.

 _No,_ the answer to her sister’s question was no. She might’ve wanted something, but this wasn’t it. Yet she couldn’t make the words come. How could she tell her sister this when Narcissa was looking at her so desperately?

She’d never thought much about how her engagement had affected the rest of family. She’d thought they were excited about it, and that was it. That Narcissa was excited about it, and that was it. But excited wasn’t quite the right word to describe Narcissa now. This meant so much to Cissa, more than she’d realized. 

Her twelve-year-old sister’s words swept over her again. _“You’re a romantic, you’ll let some guy sweep you off her feet and then you’ll love him forever_.” 

Narcissa had to believe Andromeda’s arranged marriage was still her happily ever after. Because if it wasn’t, what hope was there for her? But how could Meda lie to her? Weren’t you supposed to be honest with those you truly cared about? And she was already lying about so many other things. 

But looking at her sister now, she knew it didn’t matter. She couldn’t hurt her like that.

“Yeah, of course.” She forced a smile, which almost became genuine when her sister breathed out a sigh of relief. “We’ve got to work through some things, but I have faith in us.”

The worry lines quickly receded Cissa face, returning it to the warm, bright face Meda remembered.

“And how about you?” Andromeda said while she still had her attention. “Anyone new in your life I should know about?”

She asked her sister this before, and without luck, but maybe Narcissa had just needed time. 

Something flashed across Narcissa’s eyes, and her mouth opened, like she was finally going to tell Andromeda, but then she shook her head.

“Andromeda, don’t you think if I had a special someone, you’d know by now?” Yet she couldn’t meet Andromeda eyes as she said this, afraid her sister would see the lie in her eyes.

“Yes,” Andromeda almost couldn’t speak as she swallowed the lump that rose in her throat,“I would.”


	21. chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Andromeda meet for a special evening and an encounter and unexpected party crasher.

“Sorry,” Ted whispered, as Andromeda scraped her toe turning a corner again. “I really thought we avoided that one.”

Andromeda didn’t say anything, but he imagined she was glaring at him underneath the blindfold. He should probably count himself lucky she was so good at masking her pain, otherwise her cries would’ve brought Filch down on them by now. 

Finally, mercifully, they reached the room he’d picked out. He waited until the door closed behind them to slip her blindfold off.

He held his breath as she first blinked at the change in light. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as she beheld his surprise, but her eyebrows quickly pinched together in confusion.

“What is it?” she said, staring at the chairs, projector, and white screen he’d set up.

“It’s a movie,” he said, but that only raised her alarm. Rolling his eyes, Ted led her to one of the chairs before moving behind her to start the projector.

He pushed a button, and the grainy screen appeared as white noise filled the room. Andromeda jumped, and he let out a string of cuss words as he frantically pressed one of the other buttons until one stopped it.

Andromeda looked at him, one eyebrow raised. He gave her his most dignified expression, and she snorted to hide her laugh. He couldn’t help but grin as well. It was so refreshing when she behaved like a normal human being instead of a perfect little princess.

“What are these?” she asked, as he hesitantly pressed a button again. For the most part, electrical appliances didn’t work at Hogwarts, as he’d discovered. Though for some reason this older movie projector did. Maybe it was because it was simpler, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t going to wonder about it too much, in case that made his luck run out.

He pressed a black button that looked promising and then glanced at Andromeda.

“It’s popcorn,” he said, as she examined the oddly- shaped food particle, “It’s a muggle food.”

Andromeda smiled at him, but gingerly replaced the popcorn kernel. Ted Immediately picked it up and popped it in his mouth, flashing her a grin.

“And these.” She held up the two bottles of Butterbeer. “Are these muggle foods too?”

“I didn’t want you to be entirely out of your comfort zone,” he said with another shrug, but she eyed him shrewdly like she didn’t quite believe him. Thankfully, the movie chose that moment to actually start, sparing him the problem of answering.

Except, he’d forgotten about the five-minute overture they liked to include in movies like this.

“So, this is a movie?” Andromeda asked, her eyebrows pinched and her head cocked. He couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or not.

“One of them. They’re like books, so there’s more than one.” Of course that perked her interest. “This one was actually a book before they made it a movie, Gone with the Wind. Have you heard of it?” She shook her head. “Oh, you’ll love it. It’s a love story set during the American Civil War. Are you sure, you’ve never heard of it?”

She shook her head again, a small smile on her lips. “My parents were never fond of my reading muggle fiction, but American muggle fiction was an entirely different story.”

Ted nodded, but his eyes were glued to her. She always seemed different when she brought up her parents, a little stiffer, though he’d never found a way to comment on it.

They lapsed into silence as the movie actually started. Ted couldn’t help but glance at Andromeda every so often. He watched as her stiff, uncomfortable posture seemed to relax, while her eyes became glued to the screen. She watched the story unfold with an almost rabid attention, like she could almost absorb it. He was afraid she was going to notice him staring, but she never looked away from the screen, so he didn’t stop.

“Is that how you feel?” she said as they finished Mr. O’Hara’s speech about land.

“Yeah, course,” Ted said without really thinking. When Andromeda’s look of interest turned to a glare he added, “I mean, I probably wouldn’t die for my land, or kill for it, but umm…land’s constant. You take care of it, it takes care of you, unlike people who can be… less… constant…” Andromeda was giving him a look, a look she had never given him before. “What?”

She blushed. “It’s just, you get this funny look on your face when you speak like a philosopher.”

And now it was Ted’s turn to blush, though he tried it hide with a glare. “Just watch the movie, you’re missing the best part.”

He could only see her out of the corner of his eye, but he swore she gave him another look that wasn’t a glare or a suppressed smirk or even a smile, but something else entirely, but a moment later she was looking at the screen, and the look was gone.

She didn’t look away from the screen for the rest of the movie, which was getting problematic. He’d assumed, as a movie virgin, she wouldn’t have the attention span to sit through a four-hour movie. That she would get bored, or overwhelmed, and ask him to turn it off, and he could’ve come across as the cultured, artistically-superior one for once. But he should have known not to underestimate her.

But when they got to the scene, the one his mother quoted at the mirror when she didn’t think Ted or his father were listening, he got an idea. He leaned over, as slowly as he could, but Meda was still too engrossed in the screen to notice. 

He’d somehow managed to time it perfectly. His mouth was right next to her ear when he said, perfectly in sync with Rhett Butler, “You should be kissed. Often. And by someone who knows how.”

Andromeda let out a tiny squeal, almost like she was too surprised to scream. Her body was a different story. She jerked so violently Ted’s body jumped back out of reflex, which caused him to lose his balance, which is how he ended up with his cheek pressed to the floor.

“Well,” he said as he propped himself up on his elbow, “that wasn’t quite how I wanted that to go.”

She blinked. “What were you trying to do?”

“You have to ask?” He rolled over so that he was lying on his back, staring up at her, “then I failed more epically than I thought.”

It was almost worth it though, watching her confused look change to a warm blush as she figured it out. “Oh.”

He flashed her a grin. “Guess that means you’ll have to come down here and join me.”

Her blush deepened, but she hid with a nervous laugh as she said, “we’re missing the movie.”

“So turn it off.” He moved his arms behind his head to make himself more comfortable. “Push the button on top of the projector.”

She moved, with almost painful slowness, toward the projector. With the way her face pinched up, you’d think this button would end the world and not turn off the movie.

Though when instead of turning off, the screen made that same obnoxiously loud white noise, you’d think the world had ended, at least based on her face.

To be fair, loud noises that attracted unwanted attention could be considered the end of the world for them.

“The other button,” Ted said, as calmly as she could. This time she didn’t hesitate.

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the look on her face.

“Stop it,” she said, her voice still tense.

“I think you’re going to have to make me.” He somehow managed to say that without freaking out.

Andromeda didn’t blush this time. She even managed to smile as she walked forward and knelt down next to him.

No matter how many times it happened, his heart still pounded and his brain grew fuzzy every time her lips came close to his.

But he’d barely had time to respond when there was a scraping sound, like one of the many desks in the room had been moved.

Andromeda's lips left his as quickly as they'd come, but somehow, he still couldn't get himself to think. Which is how, by the time he sat up, she was halfway across the room.

He raced after her and slammed the door closed just as she opened it.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

“What are you doing?” he hissed back.

She didn’t respond. Just stared at him with wide eyes before reaching for the door again, which he closed again.

He swore he could feel the air whoosh out of her nostrils as they flared. She reached for the doorknob again, but this time he beat her to it. Her hand remained there though, on top of his.

“Someone was watching us,” she hissed again, “that means they know—“

“Maybe it was just Peeves,” he said bracingly.

“And if it’s not?” she was staring at him like he was mentally incompetent. Was she really not thinking this through? Was he, Ted, really thinking more clearly than she was?

“If it’s not,” he shifted his hand on the doorknob so that his palm was pressed to hers, “then leaving now won’t make them forget what they’ve seen, but it will mean we won’t know who they are,” he trailed off, waiting for her to connect the dots. She stopped trying to open the door, but her eyes were unfocused, like she wasn’t processing what he was saying. What was with her tonight?

“And if we don’t know who they are, we’ll have no way of— look Andromeda, we need to know who’s in here.” She started a bit at his abrupt change it tone, but at least it worked. Her hand slipped off the doorknob. Then, together, their eyes drifted toward the side of the room, where the sound had come from.

They walked toward the desks, and then stopped.

“Right,” Ted said, scratching his head. It was one thing to talk about figuring out who just saw you snogging your secret girlfriend, it was another thing entirely to do it.

There was a sort of muffling sound, like someone was stifling a cough. Ted gulped and glanced at Andromeda. Her eyes started to get wide, but stopped as she let out a huff of disgust.

“For the love of—“ she grabbed the nearest desk and threw it out of the way, revealing the person crouched behind it.

“Huh,” Ted said, as he cocked his head, trying to see what she looked like from this angle. “This is…”

Unexpected wouldn’t exactly cover it. Before him was a small girl, no more than a fifth year. Her face was mostly covered by long, blond hair that looked it hadn’t been brushed in a few days. Underneath her mop of hair were these bulging brown eyes and several freckles of a matching color. As far as threatening went, she definitely didn’t take the cake, except underneath those little freckles was a mouth, a mouth that could repeat what she’d seen to some far more threatening people.

She had her knees drawn up to her chest, and sitting on her lap was a tattered, moleskin notebook, on which she’d written something. Had she written what she’d seen? How much? And how in depth? Had she written about the part where’d he fallen over after trying to kiss Meda? Because that would be…

Not what he should be worried about right now.

He glanced at Meda to see if she was as perplexed as he was, but the color had drained from her face.

“Piper,” she breathed.

Ted raised his eyebrows. “Wait, you know her?”

“No,” she shook her head, “Yes. Sort of. This Piper Dawson. She’s a fourth year Gryffindor. Piper what are you doing here?”

“Writing,” Piper said, her voice slightly nasally.

“Writing?” Ted repeated. “Here? After hours? What’s wrong with your common room? Or, you know, the daytime?”

“I like the quiet,” she said, like that answered all his questions.

“How long have you been here?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I saw you setting up the projector.”

She called it a projector, which meant she was probably a muggleborn, or at least a half-blood. How did Andromeda know a non-pureblood Gryffindor?

But he waved that aside. “Did it ever occur to you to, I don’t know, move?”

He’d done a pretty good job of keeping his voice level, but she glared at him anyway. “I was here first.”

“So what you were just going to watch while Andromeda and I—“

“Does she end up with him?” Piper asked, cutting him off. “That girl from the movie? Does she end up with the man with the mustache?”

“No,” Ted said automatically. Andromeda shot him a mutinous look. “Yes. Sort of.” He turned back to glaring at Piper. She’d just gotten him to spoil the end of one of the greatest romances ever-written to his romance-obsessed girlfriend. “But that’s not the—“

“Is he your boyfriend?” Piper said, cutting Ted off again as she turned her attention to Andromeda. Ted and Andromeda shot each other another quick look before Andromeda sighed.

“Yes.”

Piper didn’t smile exactly, but she got the same look on her face Ted got whenever he saw figgy pudding. And it made him distinctly uncomfortable. 

“Have you been dating long?” Piper asked, her eyes glowing.

“Not really.” Andromeda knelt down beside Piper. “You know you can’t tell anyone, right?”

Piper stared at her for a moment, before snorting. “I’m not stupid.”

“I know.” Ted thought he saw her give Piper a sad smile, but it was too brief for him to be certain. “But I need to make sure you understand.”

“I understand.” Piper nodded vigorously, but she dropped Andromeda’s gaze. “You don’t want Bellatrix to know.”

“Among others, yes,” Andromeda sighed again. Ted however, felt something a little stronger was in order.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he said. Andromeda looked up at him and nodded. He led her far enough away that Piper couldn’t hear them before saying. “Look, I have nothing against Gryffindors.” He could see Piper giving them a pointed look, but he chose to ignore her. He’d known the girl for a minute and he didn’t like her, not a common thing for him. “Most of them anyway, and they’re far preferable to the Slytherins,” He ignored the small glare Andromeda shot him, “but the number of Gryffindors who are running around knowing our secret is starting to make me a little uncomfortable.”

“Can I eat the rest of your popcorn?” Piper said as she crossed over to their chairs.

“No,” Ted said, while at the same time Meda said, “Yes.” Piper watched them for a minute before shrugging and continuing toward the popcorn.

Andromeda sighed. “I know. We’ll have to be more careful.”

“That’s not it,” Ted shook his head. “It’s just, are you sure we can trust her?”

“Of course,” Meda blinked, like she was actually surprised by his question. “She’s a muggleborn, and a Gryffindor. She has no reason to tell them.”

“Maybe not on purpose,” Ted chuckled, even though he didn’t think this was funny, “but she lets the wrong thing slip to the wrong person and—“

“She won’t.”

He almost threw his hands up in frustration. “How can you be sure?”

Andromeda looked at him, full on, the way you do when you want to make sure someone knows you’re not lying. “Because she knows better than anyone, better than you, better than me, what will happen to us if people find out.”

Ted wasn’t done, but Andromeda clearly was as she sighed and said, “We should pick this stuff up now.”

It didn’t take them long, as they just had to put the chairs back and return the projector and sheet to his bag. Piper watched them, eating her— their— popcorn. She didn’t say anything, thankfully, but she had this knowing smirk on her face, like she knew she was the reason Ted and Meda weren’t currently speaking and was thoroughly delighted about it. As she reached for the one remaining butterbeer Ted snatched it out from under her and placed it in his bag.

“We should go,” Meda said, coming up from behind them. She turned to Piper. “Would you like us to walk you back to your common room?”

Piper was still watching Ted as she nodded.

“Great,” Ted muttered, hoisting his bag up on his shoulder. They’d just turned toward the door when they heard voices.

They froze, glancing at each other. Filch? But no, they distinctly heard voices, which meant more than one person was coming. Maybe Filch was with a teacher?

“Come on,” Meda hissed, when neither Piper nor Ted had moved. The two of jolted before quickly following after her. The all managed to squeeze behind the desks when the door opened.


	22. chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Meda's midnight rendezvous becomes a group event.

Ted never would’ve thought there’d be someone worse than Filch, but he clearly hadn’t been thinking it through.

Yaxley, Rosier, Dolohov, and Rodolphus Lestrange stumbled into the room. Dolohov and Yaxley were holding bottles of firewhiskey, though all four of them we’re clearly drunk. Wait, all three of them. While Yaxley, Rosier, and Dolohov all collapsed into their chairs with the grace of a mountain troll— Yaxley even missed his chair the first time around— Rodolphus casually leaned against the side of the desk and folded his arms across his chest, staring at his friends with a look of slight amusement on his face. He was either sober or he did drunk better than his friends. Eerily better.

But then, a lot of things about that guy were eerie.

“Did you see their faces?” Yaxley chortled as he took another swig. “Looked like they were being chased by a horde of angry spiders.”

“They were being chased by a horde of angry spiders,” Dolohov slurred, and the two of them burst into laughter.

“We need to get out of here,” Andromeda whispered.

“What? And miss the primetime show?” Ted muttered, but he trailed off as he glanced over at Andromeda.

Piper was shaking, all over. And there were tears streaming down her face. Her breath was coming in short, heavy gasps. It was like she was having some sort of panic attack.

"What's her deal?" Ted mouthed, but Meda only shook her head.

“Would’ve been e’en better if it was mudblood girls,” Dolohov slurred. “One bite and their skin gets all oozy, thadda make them scream.”

“Yeah, wadda yeah think, Rolf,” Yaxley called, “Wanna make ‘dem mudbloods dance?”

Piper let out some high-pitched cough, like a mix between a hiccup and a sob.

Rodolphus’s head whipped into their direction.

Andromeda clapped her hand over Piper’s mouth, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

They froze, scarcely even daring to breathe, as Rodolphus’s eyes roamed over the corner where they were hiding. There was no smirk on his face this time; just his dark, endless eyes.

As slowly as he could, Ted reached for his wand. If Rodolphus decided to come and investigate, then their best bet was to take him out. Then they could take out the other three and make a run for it.

Just as his hands closed around the familiar wood, warm fingers wrapped around his wrist. Andromeda shook her head. Ted was about to protest, but something in her eyes stopped him. There was a steeliness there he hadn’t seen before, like her brown eyes were flecked with grey. He sighed, inwardly, but nodded. She released his wrist, placing her hand back on Piper’s shoulder in comfort, but he saw her other hand clenching her wand under her robes, ready to strike.

“Rolf?” Dolohov prompted again.

Ever so slowly, his eyes turned away from the corner. “Pathetic.”

Dolohov’s face pinched together, like he were trying to solve a particularly complex problem, or was possibly just constipated. “What?”

“Your plan. It’s dull. Unoriginal. Not worth my time.”

“He’s right,” Rosier cut in. “Setting a horde of spider’s after them means the spiders get to steal all our fun.”

Xayley’s eyes lit up, like Rosier’s statement was prophetic in nature. “Then what?”

“I know who we should do it too,” Dolohov waved his bottle around. “This Hufflepuff girl squeaked when I grinned at her the other day. Bet she’d scream all nice and pretty.”

Rodolphus raised his eyebrows. “She got a name?”

“Teresa,” Dolohov said. “She’s a Hufflepuff, sixth year, I think.”

Ted’s chest seized up as he slowly glanced at Andromeda. He was sure her pale expression mirrored his own.

Rodolphus tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling like he was thinking. “My dad told me about a spell. Turns a person’s insides out.”

Rosier raised his eyebrows, but not in horror, the way Ted would have, merely mild surprise. “You want to kill her?”

“That’s the beauty of it,” Rodolphus’s lips spread like he was actually grinning. “It doesn’t kill them. All that muscle and tissue exposed and they go on breathing normal. It’ll give her plenty to scream about though.”

There was a silence as they all pictured it, then Dolohov’s lips spread into a slow, drunken laugh.

Ted turned away, choking down the bile in his throat. He couldn’t take any more of this, or he really would be sick.

“You got any ideas on how to get out of here?” He mouthed to Andromeda, but she held her finger up to her lips. Her attention returned to the drunken Slytherin boys in front of them. She looked almost passive, except she was making the same swallowing motions he was, and her hand was clenched so tightly around her wand her knuckles had turned white.

“I know when we could do it too,” Dolohov said. “She always leaves dinner a little early on Saturday’s, goes out to the greenrooms. Few people would be out by the greenhouses during dinner, especially in this weather.” He chuckled. “No one around to hear her scream.”

Ted tensed, almost like he was going to spring forward and attack them, but he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and heard Andromeda whispering something.

There was a loud thud as a chair smacked against a wall on the other side of the room.

The three drunk boys stood up quickly— so quickly Yaxley lost his balance— staring pale-faced at the wall.

Rodolphus, on the other hand, glanced casually over his shoulder, like this sort of thing happened all the time.

“What was that?” Dolohov said, like it was the most important question in the world. They glanced around hurriedly, searching for the source of the noise, except for Rodolphus’s, whose gaze drifted back over to where they were hiding.

Ted would’ve hissed at her, but that would’ve made things worse. What the hell was she thinking? Her saw her eyes widen as Rodolphus’s gaze turned to them. Her hand began to shake. She closed her eyes, muttering something else.

The chalk by the blackboard rose into the air and began writing on the board. The other three froze as they watched it.

Ted’s face went bright red at the word Andromeda wrote on the board, but it worked. A moment later Dolohov said, “Peeves! It’s Peeves.”

Yaxley pulled out his wand with so much force he stumbled backward. “Peeves! Show yourself.”

Rodolphus glanced at the board, but his attention again returned to desks they were hiding behind.

“You coward!” Dolohov shouted. “Come out.”

Unless Ted was much mistaken, taunting people while lurking just out of sight was a poltergeist specialty, but it didn’t really matter, what he believed. The drunken trio and their much more sensible fourth member needed to believe it was him. Andromeda better have another trick up her sleeve.

She muttered something else, and then a low cackling filled the air. Ted glanced over at her, unable to keep the surprised grin off his face. It sounded exactly like Peeves. How had she done that?

The trio seemed to agree, as they were whirling around again, searching for the source of the noise. Even Rodolphus looked confused as he glanced between his friends and the desks.

“Stop that!” Dolohov shouted. “You don’t know who you’re toying with peeves.” And then, as if to emphasize this point, he set a hex at a coat of arms strung up on the wall. It fell and nearly knocked out Yaxley.

Andromeda grinned, but she managed to keep it under control as she flicked her wand a few more times. More objects began to fly across the room, slamming into the walls.

“He’s going to attract Filch!” Yaxley hollered, because that of course, wouldn’t attract Filch.

And now Ted understood. It was brilliant. The only problem would be if it worked, and Filch did come. Still, he was pretty sure he’d rather face Filch than these guys. Maybe.

Except it wasn’t working completely. Rodolphus’s gaze returned to where they were hiding, his eyes narrowed. He stepped toward them. Ted shot a quick glance at Andromeda. She returned it, her eyes widening. Biting back a curse, he began sending objects flying as well.

Dolohov cursed as Ted nearly slammed a desk into his head. He took off running toward the door, with Yaxley and Rosier close behind, but Rodolphus was still coming toward them.

“Rolf!” Rosier called from the door. “Quit messing about. We got to go!” But Rodolphus kept on walking. Andromeda made the cackling sound again, while Ted let his desk land close to Rodolphus’s feet, forcing him to jump out of the way.

“Rolf!” Rosier called again. Rodolphus gave the desks another annoyed look, but when another desk nearly sent him flying, he turned and ran after his friend. A moment later the door closed behind him.

Ted and Andromeda sat there, breathing heavily. They might’ve stayed like that forever if Piper hadn’t burst into laughter. Ted and Andromeda couldn’t help but break into relieved smiles as well. Of course, Ted had to remember his earlier concern and ruin the moment.

“Not to sound like a drunken, sadistic snake,” he heaved. “But they’re right. Filch could be here in any minute.”

The smiles slipped off Meda’s face as Ted took her hand and pulled her toward the doorway, Piper tagging along behind. They peered out into the hallway. It was empty, Rodolphus and the other’s having disappeared. There was no sign of Filch, but who knew how long that would last.

Ted turned to Andromeda. “You should hide in the girl’s bathroom for a few minutes, just to make sure you don’t catch up with them.” 

She shook her head. “We told Piper we’d walk her back to her dorm, remember?”

No, he actually didn’t. And with everything that had happened tonight he’d rather get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible, but something in Andromeda’s voice told him she wasn’t negotiating.

They didn’t say anything as they walked up to the Gryffindor tower, and not just because they didn’t want anyone to hear them. They all had a little too much to think about.

Ted couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Piper every now and then. Her eyes were still red and puffy from her breakdown earlier, but other than that she looked fine. There was a sort of crooked smile on her lips, like she was picturing something amusing. Probably those flailing Slytherin boys. Had they been the reason she’d broken down in the first place? They were pretty vile, though he never would’ve imagined how vile until what he’d heard tonight. Still, breaking down didn’t seem like the best way to deal with it, but some people just couldn’t hack it. At least Andromeda’s ploy had made her feel better.

Speaking of which, Andromeda was watching Piper too, a small frown on her lips. When they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room she gave Piper’s hand a gentle squeeze, too which Piper responded with a flicker of a smile. Andromeda released her hand, but Piper didn’t move; she just stood there, staring at them.

Ted shifted restlessly. “Aren’t you going to go inside?”

Piper’s eyes widened. “And let you overhear the password? Not likely.”

Ted laughed, even though he wasn’t feeling amused. “What makes you think we’d ever want to break in?”

“You’re a Hufflepuff,” Piper said, like this solved things. “You’re always jealous of Gryffindors.”

Ted almost choked. “Excuse me? Why do you think—“ He broke off when Andromeda sharply grabbed his forearm.

“It was great seeing you again, Piper. I mean,” Andromeda blushed like she’d said something really offensive. “I’m glad your—“

“Fine.” Piper finished for her, with something that wasn’t quite a smile. Before Ted could work out exactly what it was Andromeda was tugging him down the hall.

“And for your information,” Ted shout-whispered after Piper before Meda could stop him, “The Hufflepuff common room leaves the Gryffindor one to shame.”

“How do you know?” Meda whispered as they descended the stairs. “You’ve never seen the Gryffindor common room.”

“Believe me,” Ted said with a tired grin. “I know.” Andromeda just rolled her eyes.

“You should be nicer to her,” Meda said.

Ted resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was too tired. “I get touch-y with the ‘everyone’s better than Hufflepuffs’ attitude.”

“I’m sure it’s frustrating,” she said.

Silence lingered, forcing Ted to reflect on the night’s events again. It seemed like ages ago that they’d been watching the movie, talking about land. Now they had bigger things to worry about than whether Piper had spoiled the ending for Meda. Things they should probably talk about.

“We have to tell someone, you know,” he said, “about what their planning to do.”

Andromeda sucked in a breath. “They were just drunk. They didn’t mean it.”

“You do know who it is we’re talking about, right?”

Her jaw twitched. “Better than you do.”

“So you know they’re fully capable of doing something like this.”

“No. I know they’ve threatened to do things like this before, and haven’t followed through.”

What was with her attitude? “And if they do this time?” He could barely keep the hard edge out of his voice.

She stopped walking, whirling on him. “What if whoever we tell asks how we know about this? What do we tell them? And if it gets out that we were the ones who told on them? Rodolphus already suspects someone was there, it won’t take him long to put two and two together.”

“So what? Were just supposed to forget about it? And when Teresa gets sent to the St. Mungo’s psych ward to recover from having her skin ripped off, we’ll just say, whoops sorry, guess Andromeda over-estimated her snakes. Again.”

Andromeda closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. “I can’t. If anyone finds out. I’ll be labeled as a blood traitor a—“ she broke off, casting Ted an almost fearful look. “I’ll be labeled as a blood traitor.”

So she was keeping something from him. That almost explained why she was being so ridiculous. Almost.

“You snog a mudblood a few times a week. You don’t get much more bloody traitorous than that.”

Something inside her seemed to crumble at that. When she spoke again, her voice was a hoarse whisper.

“We. Just. Can’t.”

Ted whistled, mostly to keep himself from shaking her, which is what he wanted to do. “Fitting in with the snakes that important to you?”

“Stop calling them that,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Why?” Ted almost snarled. “It’s what they are.”

And now it was her turn to glare. “I just get a little touch-y at the, “all Slytherins are evil,” attitude. She gave him a look that resembled disgust before turning toward the dungeons.

“Lestrange and his friends are the reason that stereotype exists,” Ted said without moving.

Andromeda stopped moving, but she didn’t turn around. Her head was high, but he could see her shoulders quivering. 

“Just keep an eye on Teresa,” Andromeda said. And then she kept walking.

Ted didn’t move. He refused to look down the hallway either, instead staring straight ahead, until he couldn’t do it anymore. 

He turned around; she was gone. The heat left his cheeks, while a cold emptiness took its place. 

This definitely hadn’t been how he’d planned his romantic evening to go.


	23. chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda has unexpected encounter with Narcissa, but it's not the joyous reunion she hoped it would be.

Andromeda would be forever grateful to Slughorn. All right, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but most teachers highly discouraged bathroom breaks during class time. Slughorn though, had always been fond of her. It was one of the perks of being committed to her studies, and one of the only Slytherin’s who wasn’t a prat.

She always preferred the bathroom at this hour, as she didn’t have to deal with the gaggle of girls who stared at her and whispered. People had seen her with Rabastan enough to know something was up, though thankfully, mercifully, their engagement was still somehow a secret. There was no telling how long that would last though, or what would happen should the truth finally break out.

She let out a long sigh as she entered the empty bathroom, only to discover it wasn’t empty. There was a girl standing by the mirrors.

“Sorry, I—“the girl whirled around, and her sentence trailed off.

“Narcissa?” Andromeda smiled as she stepped forward. She’d been looking for alone time, but alone time with her baby sister was a close second.

Narcissa however, continued to stare at her with wide eyes, her lips pressed so tightly they trembled. Andromeda recognized that look. As it was one she herself had worn on several occasions. It was the look of someone who wanted desperately to hide something, and was terrified of failing.

“What are you doing here?” Meda asked slowly, hoping this would ease her sister’s tension.

“Just… just freshening up.” Narcissa’s eyes remained transfixed on Andromeda until she reached the mirror next to Narcissa, at which point her gaze promptly flitted away.

Andromeda gave her sister another smile, though this one was much more forced. Clearly, something was up. For one thing, her sister hardly ever needed freshening up as badly as she did now. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail— something she never did— and it was frizzy. Frizzy. Her eyes had that sunken, dark look of someone who wasn’t sleeping well. And her lips were pulled down in a way Andromeda had never seen, almost like her sister was too tired to really smile.

Of course, she knew why her sister was tired. It was the same reason Meda found herself stiffing yawns and resisting the urge to close her eyes in class; she was sneaking out with her boyfriend. Though Narcissa’s secret romance seemed to be taking more of a physical toll on her than Andromeda’s.

Meda sighed, turning to the sink as she splashed water on her face. She’d never had to think about what to say to her sister. The words had just come. But that was price of secrets. It created a distance, a barrier, that only the truth itself could overcome.

She turned off the water, taking another deep breath. That was it then. She had to get her sister to open up about her relationship with Rodolphus. It was the only way she could help her.

So… I’ve been hearing rumors about you.” She didn’t look at her sister yet, but she saw Narcissa stiffen out of the corner of her eye. That wasn’t exactly the reaction she was looking for, but maybe this next part would loosen her up.

“Rumors that you’ve been seeing someone.” She made sure her voice had just the right amount of flirtation it in, exactly the way Narcissa had taught her, but her sister only tensed up further.

“Who told you that?”

Andromeda put her finger to her lips, smiling softly. “Wasn’t it you that told me a good sister never reveals her sources?”

Narcissa only shook her head and looked away. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

Something shifted inside, Meda, but she ignored it as she rolled her eyes. “Please, there’s no way a girl like you could stay single for that long.”

Narcissa’s gaze whipped back up to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s just that…” Narcissa was glaring at her. Narcissa never glared at her. Andromeda felt herself flushing. “It’s you. You know, you aren’t exactly the single type.”

“Because you know so much about it,” Narcissa muttered, her voice like venom.

Andromeda’s face was beet red now. “I just meant that you’re a beautiful girl,” Narcissa shot her another glare, “and charming, and romantic, and any guy would be a fool not to date you.”

Narcissa started to smile, but it was darker, and didn’t reach her eyes. “Some of us are free to play the field, _Andromeda_.”

She’d never said her name like that, like it was an insult in and of itself. Andromeda almost flinched. This wasn’t going at all how she’d expected, but why? Why wouldn’t Narcissa open up to her?

She sighed. “Are you sure there’s not—“

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Narcissa cut her off. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

“All right,”Andromeda said, as calmly as she could considering the situation. Narcissa turned away with a huff.

Andromeda took a deep breath. “But if it you were. You know you can tell me. No matter who it was.”

Narcissa began washing her hands, not looking up.“I know.

“And I mean that. Anyone. I’d be happy for you.” Actually, happy isn’t the word she would use to describe her sister being with Rodolphus, even before she’d overheard him talking with those Slytherin boys about turning Teresa inside out. Unfortunately, there weren’t many fish in the pureblood sea. But as long as he didn’t hurt her sister, there wasn’t much else Meda could ask for.

“You can trust…” Her hand brushed over her sister’s shoulder, but Narcissa flinched like Meda had punched her instead. Narcissa turned off the water, hastily grabbing her pack. “I have to go.”

“Wait I—“Andromeda started, but it was too late. Her sister was already gone.

Andromeda placed her hands on either side of the sink, breathing deeply. To say that had gone worse than she’d expected wasn’t even covering it. She’d failed, again, to reach her sister. It was like she was losing her entirely, even though that idea felt as foreign to her as muggle children flying on broomsticks to school, or Ted remembering which fork his salad fork was.

There was something else that bothered her too. Something Narcissa had done had reminded her of Bellatrix, a frightening notion in and of itself. Not long-ago Bellatrix had flinched when Andromeda had come close to touching her arm, and now Narcissa had done the same. It was like they didn’t want her to touch them, like they were afraid they’d be infected.

Her grip on the sink became painful. What if they knew? Knew about her and Ted? It would certainly explain their strange behavior. Except, there was no way they’d keep something like that a secret for long. Bellatrix hadn’t last time.

There was something going with both of them. No, all three of them. She had a secret too. They each had one, one they weren’t willing to share, and it was driving all of them apart.

And she had no idea how to fix it.

Her sigh was internal this time, the kind that filled your entire body, as she turned away from the bathroom window. It was Friday, which meant she had bigger concerns than Narcissa’s secret love life.


	24. chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted attempts to save Teresa regardless of what, or who, stands in his way.

“Do you need something?” Teresa asked, but Ted continued to stare at her.

“Hello?” She waved her hand in front of his face. “Ted? Are you there?”

Liv hit his arm, finally pulling him out of his stupor.

“What? Umm… Yes, sorry.” He averted his gaze.

Teresa gave him a look somewhere between worried and bemused before returning to her work. As soon as she turned away his gaze returned to her.

He should just tell her what those boys were planning to do, but every time he thought about it, he pictured the look of horror on her face, and his resolve died. There had to be way of saving her without giving her reason to look over her shoulder every five minutes for who knows how long.

Despite his anger at Andromeda, he couldn’t bring himself to tell a teacher either. What if she was right, and someone found out about them? He couldn’t risk hurting her, which only made him feel guiltier every time he saw Teresa.

Though “them” may not be the best way to describe Andromeda and him, since they’d scarcely spoken all week.

But he really needed to stop thinking about Andromeda. Teresa came first. At least, she was supposed to.

He sighed. The only thing he could do was make sure Teresa wasn’t alone and didn’t go by the greenhouses. If their plan failed then they wouldn’t try again, hopefully. Otherwise, he’d have to guard her every Friday for the next two years.

He could see Liv staring at him out of the corner of his eye. Out of habit he looked at her. She nodded her head in Teresa’s direction, and raised her eyebrows. Clearly, she wanted an explanation.

He wetted his lips. He could tell her. He almost wanted to tell her, but she’d have the same question everybody else did. How did he know? Besides, getting her involved might make her a target. It was better not to get her involved.

Lunch came. Ted practically ran to the Great Hall, leaving his friends behind. Teresa was already there, sitting next to Susannah, as per usual. Ted quickly took a seat next to her.

“You mind?” he asked.

She stole a quick glance at Susannah, before returning to him with a smile. “Of course not.”

“Great.” He reached for the food nearest him, stuffing it directly in his mouth as he put more on the plate.

He caught sight of Susannah staring at him as shot her a grin. She blushed. Teresa also watched him with a slightly amused expression, though upon catching his glance she rolled her eyes and looked away.

Though if he wasn’t mistaken, he caught something else in her eyes, something far less judgmental.

Under different circumstances he might be embarrassed, but the stakes were high. He had to be done eating by the time Teresa was ready to leave, otherwise he’d be facing the prospects of being starving until dinnertime. That was almost as horrible as what the snakes were planning to do to Teresa.

“Look who decided to join the civilized,” Jake said tauntingly as he and the others took seats around them.

Liv quickly noticed who he was sitting next too, and her eyebrows raised even higher than last time.

“I think it’s cute he’s so in touch with the outdoors,” Teresa said, smiling at him again.

“What you think doesn’t count,” Jake said. He had a point. Teresa found the good side in everyone. It was probably what originally attracted Dolohov to her. He wanted to snuff her light out.

Almost without thinking, he glanced at the Slytherin table. He saw some of the Slytherin seventh years, such as Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black. And even, his face flushed, Rabastan Lestrange. But Rabastan’s brother, among the other three, were missing. Unless they all had last minute homework to do it looked like Andromeda was wrong, they hadn’t been bluffing.

And speaking of which, there she was, sitting across from Rabastan Lestrange of all people. Her gaze flickered over to the Hufflepuff table, and landed on him. They widened at first, as her lips parted slightly, but then they flicked to Teresa sitting next him. He thought he saw a lump rise in her throat, but then her eyes narrowed. Ted just lifted his head, not averting his gaze, until she finally looked away.

And just like that he seemed to deflate. That was it. Barely speaking, and now they could hardly look at each other.

His returned his gaze to his food, but he couldn’t make himself eat a bite. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

Ted could barely keep up with the conversation for the next few minutes. He kept his eyes on his lap, though every time Teresa shifted, he shifted with her.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Teresa said. She stood up and Ted hastily did the same, meaning he ended up in front of her. He just stared at her, not moving, until finally she cleared he throat.

“Do you mind?” Of course, she still said it with perfect politeness, like she was asking him about the weather rather than to get out of her way.

“Umm…” Ted scratched the back of his head. “Actually, I umm… need to go with you.” He’d meant to say, “I need to go too,” but it had come out wrong. Teresa raised her eyebrows and he flushed an even brighter red.

He cleared his throat. “I’ll walk you out.”

Her eyebrows raised even further, but then the corners of her mouth turned up, and she even blushed a little as Ted turned to walk with her out of the hallway.

Olivia mouth the word, “what?”, but Ted ignored her. He’d lied to her enough already. Besides, he didn’t really trust himself to speak. A nervous pit settled in his stomach. He shouldn’t be nervous. He was just going to convince her to go to the library. But what if those guys decided to come looking for her? Not that Ted was afraid of them, individually. But together they could be a bit of a problem.

He really shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking at Andromeda. She wasn’t looking at him though, but rather listening as Rabastan said something. That made the knot in his stomach tighten for a very different reason.

As soon as they got out into the hallway Teresa waved at him before turning toward the entrance hall; toward the greenhouse.

Ted moved so that he was in front of her again. “Wait,” he said. She stopped, looking once again perplexed by his actions.

His heart was pounding, even though he kept telling himself they weren’t in danger. At least for now.

“I was actually wondering if you’d come to the library with me. I need help with my transfiguration homework.”

She cocked her head slightly, staring at him questioningly.

“What?” he asked.

“You skipped lunch to go the library?” She looked him over, like she was trying to make sure it was really Ted she was looking at. “You?”

From some people. That might’ve seemed like an insult, but this time it only made Ted chuckle. “Sixth year really does drive you mad, doesn’t it?”

That made her giggle. “All right.” She started to walk forward, looking a lot happier about helping with homework than he would’ve guessed. But some people were like that, like Andro—

At least it worked. That was the important part. She was safe.

But Ted barely had time to give a sigh of relief when he was crashing into someone.

“Sorry,” he started, then stopped when he realized that someone was Andromeda.

She lifted her chin, looking down at him over her nose. “Watch where you’re going, mudblood.”

Ted stiffened. Whatever else Andromeda had done, she’d never called him mudblood before. Nor had she ever looked at him like that before, like she actually believed the words she was saying. He couldn’t stop himself from staring at her, waiting for her to go back to the Andromeda he remembered, but she didn’t.

Something in Ted shifted, like something had broken, which somehow managed to snap him out of it.

“Worried I chipped a nail, princess?” He sneered. Andromeda flushed, but he didn’t stay to watch as he stepped passed her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she said.

“Elsewhere,” he said, but she grabbed his arm.

“Not until you help me pick this up.”

Something jolted through at her touch, but he ignored it. “Aren’t you worried you’ll get tainted?”

Hurt flashed across her eyes, and she quickly released him. He turned to go again, but this time Teresa stopped him.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I’ll meet you up there.” Her glance turned to Andromeda. Something passed over her features, not quite anger, or distaste the way Ted might’ve expected. It was more like— pity, even though that didn’t make sense.

“It’s better to just go along with them when possible.” Her gaze returned to him. “Trust me.”

Then she turned to go, but not before giving Andromeda a polite smile. At least Andromeda had the decency to redden as Teresa walked away. Then slowly, her gaze turned to him.

Neither of them moved, and neither of them looked away. The disdainful look had left Andromeda’s face, leaving her usual wide-eyed, tight-lipped expression.

‘Aren’t you…” She gestured to her fallen books, “aren’t you going too…”

Ted folded his arms across his chest, not moving. Sighing, she bent down to scoop them up, her arms shaking ever so slightly.

“Well,” he muttered as she finished, “looks like their all picked up.”

He turned to go. He had to remind himself not to run. The boys were waiting for Teresa by the greenhouses, there was no reason to think she’d be in danger before he got to the library. Still, he couldn’t help but quicken his step as images of her skin being ripped off flashed before his mind.

But he’d just reached the steps when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into the stairwell. He had only one guess who.

“Get off,” he hissed savagely, ripping his arm out of her grip. She did, while still glaring at him furiously.

“Are you out of your mind!” she seethed. “You can’t be seen with her.”

“I’m sorry, did I put you in charge of my actions?” He didn’t wait for her to respond as he brushed past her, but she moved in front him.

“They’re going to be suspicious if they see you with her. Especially Rodolphus.”

“So, you admit you don’t think it’s just talk,” Ted scoffed.

Whatever else she was going to say slipped off her tongue. She swallowed, her eyes darting away from his face.

Realization was over him, like getting doused with ice-water. “You never thought it was, did you?”

She looked up at him, her mouth, but gave no reply. What could she say? There was no excuse for this.

“So, you were going to just let them hurt her?” Ted stepped closer to her, nostrils flaring, and she stepped back.

“No,” she said, her voice shaking as she stared at him with bright, wide yes. “I… I didn’t…”

But Ted had had enough. “You know,” he said, his voice taking on an almost casual air even though he could barely keep himself from shaking in anger. “I think I read somewhere that Slytherins always save their own skins first.” He looked her over, something he’d done many times before, but he’d never dreamed he’d do it in disgust. “Guess you belong there after all.”

He expected her to recoil, but all she did was close her eyes, seeming to collapse inward. Something tugged inside his chest, wanting him to reach out and comfort her, but he resisted, turning his back on her and heading out from under the stairwell.

“It’s not my skin I was trying to save,” she said from behind him, her voice raw. He stopped, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he looked back.

The pang inside his chest grew stronger, practically willing him forward, back to her. But he couldn’t. He turned away again, leaving her alone in the stairwell.

He could barely speak to Teresa the entire time they were in the library, which made getting their homework done difficult. By the time the bell rang, signaling the start of afternoon classes, her brow seemed to be a permanent furrow of puzzlement.

But Ted’s anxiety only increased as they left the library and made their way toward their first class, which was, of course, Herbology. Professor Sprout would be there by now, and theoretically they wouldn’t try anything with her there, but he reached into his pocket and closed his hand around his wand, just in case.

However, they had barely reached the entrance hall when Liv and Lorie came in from outside, heading the opposite way.

“Class is cancelled,” Liv said, catching his confused expression. “Someone multiplied the Boutubers and then made them explode, the whole place is covered in pus.”

Ted cringed. Undiluted Boutuber pus caused your skin to swell into painful boils, something he knew from an unpleasant experience two years ago.

“Any idea who’s behind it?”

She gave him a half-smile. “I’ll give you three guesses.”

Ted was pretty sure he only needed one, and sure enough, the next person to enter was Professor McGonagall, looking tight lipped and furious. Following close behind her were none other than Sirius Black and James Potter, looking like they had just cured Dragon Pox and everyone in the world owed them for it. But then, they always looked like that.

Sirius gave him a tiny little nod, for some reason, while winking and Liv and Lorie. Lorie giggled, and Liv, to Ted’s surprise, and discomfort, waved.

“We really shouldn’t encourage them,” Liv said, shaking her head, though she was clearly fighting a grin. “They could have seriously injured those guys.”

“Guys? What guys?” Though something told him he already knew the answer.

“These Slytherin seventh years.” She gave him a pointed look. “You know. The nasty ones.”

Well, nasty was one way to describe him. Imagining them covered in boils made him feel slightly better, but only slightly. He’d been right. They’d been planning to attack Teresa. If he hadn’t interfered, and if the Marauders hadn’t happened to be there…

“You all right, Ted?” Liv said, nudging his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he answered, too quickly. “Why?”

“You look like you’ve been force-fed Skele-gro.” She continued to stare at him, finally forcing him to look away.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda learns her love life is not the only one that's... complicated...

Andromeda woke up on Saturday morning feeling as though she had not slept in days. It took her a moment to remember why, but then her fight with Ted flashed across her mind. She’d hoped, perhaps unconsciously, that when she woke up this morning the events of yesterday would turn out to be nightmare, but this morning had come, and they were still a reality. She sat up quickly after that, looking for her robes. Remembering the cold way Ted looked at her made her feel like she was being eaten from the inside out. At least the Hufflepuff girl was safe. She supposed that was all she should really be worried about.

But that feeling in her core did not lessen, even as she stood up and made her way outside. The fifth-year girls we’re just waking up as well, their yawning keep them from being quite as chatty as normal. Andromeda scanned the group, looking for Narcissa, but frowned when she could not find her. Had she already gone down to breakfast? Not likely, it wasn’t even eight yet. But then that meant she was still in her room. With a quick glance at the fifth years she darted to their door. She might not get another opportunity to speak to her sister alone.

“Narcissa?” she said as carefully pushed the door open. Then she froze, her mouth opening.

Her sister was in nothing but undergarments, but that wasn’t what attracted Andromeda’s attention. There was a bruise right below her sister’s collarbone. It was large, about the size of apple, and deep purple surrounded by green and blue patches.

Narcissa’s head shot up, her face mutinous, but she paused for only a second before grabbing her robe off her dresser and slipping it over her head. Though not before Andromeda caught sight a few smaller bruises on her upper arms.

“How did you get those?” she breathed, eyes still glued where the massive bruise had been.

“Nowhere. They’re nothing,” her sister said, not meeting her eyes as she haphazardly grabbed items around her room and shoved them into her bag.

“That’s not nothing,” Andromeda said, stepping further into the room.

“I just… tripped on the stairs,” Narcissa said, still not looking at her.

“Down two flights?”

Narcissa didn’t answer, but her shoulders shook, like she was trying not tremble.

Andromeda stepped further into the room. “Did you go to the hospital wing?”

“No,” he sister scoffed, too loudly. “It’s nothing.”

“Narcissa, you should really…”

“Don’t you have your own problems to deal with, Meda?” Her sister looked up glaring, but before Andromeda had a chance to respond she grabbed her bag. Perhaps she should let her go, but she couldn’t.

“I’m just worried about you,” she said, trying to sound as soft as possible. She’d do anything if it meant Narcissa would stop acting like this.

For a moment, she thought it worked. Narcissa stopped just by the door, hesitating. Her shoulders heaved, like she was releasing something.

“Don’t,” she said finally, “I’m fine.”

She looked at the ground as she said this, which meant she was anything but.

“If you’d just let Madame Pomfrey have quick look,” she started, but Narcissa wasn’t listening as she opened the door and then slammed it shut behind her.

If she really had fallen down the stairs, then why was she so afraid to go to Madame Pomfrey? Assuming stairs could even make those kind of injuries, it didn’t make sense. And therein lay her answer. He sister had lied to her, again. Whatever was going on with Cissa, it was getting worse, and who knew how bad it would get before she came to her senses?

Andromeda dressed as quickly as she could, almost forgetting socks in her haste to get down to the great hall. Her sister was already surrounded by her friends. The only seat available was next to Bellatrix, considering Evan was still in the Hospital Wing. Her belly did an uncomfortable flip, but she ignored it as she sat down next to her eldest sister. Bella raised her eyebrow, but otherwise made no comment.

She glanced toward Narcissa, but her sister was determinedly avoiding her gaze, mindlessly moving her uneaten food on her plate.

Just as Andromeda opened her mouth to say something— anything, to get her sister’s attention. Narcissa stood up. She offered a quick goodbye to her friends, and, still resolutely avoiding Andromeda’s gaze, strode away from the table. Andromeda had not yet had a chance to eat anything, yet she stood up to follow her sister nonetheless. She only taken one step when Bella grabbed her upper arm. She met Andromeda’s gaze briefly before flicking her to her left. Andromeda glanced over to see Rabastan striding toward her. Her stomach did an uncomfortable flip. Bellatrix gave her another meaningful look, her eyes narrowed in the, “do this or else” variety, before pulling down sharply on Andromeda’s elbow, forcing her to sit, just as Rabastan came and sat down next to her.

Stomach clenching, she resisted the urge to glare at her sister, not she’d had the nerve to do that for a few years now, and gave Rabastan a polite smile. He returned it with a curt nod, his eyes cold. He was clearly remembering their last conversation, in which he threatened to give up trying to create a stable relationship with her. A bad sign for any marriage, especially considering they were still over a year away from actually being married. She hadn’t spoken to him much since then. She no longer avoided him, but she didn’t go out of her way to speak to him either.

Rabastan still wasn’t looking her, rather eating his breakfast silently. Sighing, she glanced at her own plate, only to see that Bella was watching her. She made an impatient gesture at Rabastan.

Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, she turned again toward her distant fiancé.

“So,” she said, hoping he’d jump in, but he continued to eat, ignoring her. Or maybe he just hadn’t heard her. She had spoken very quietly.

She sighed, loudly, as though hoping that would attract his attention, but still nothing. She’d never had to start their conversations before, he’d always supplied something.

“How’s your brother?” Rodolphus was the last thing she wanted to talk about, especially Rabastan, but she could think of nothing else.

He’d definitely heard her this time, yet he did not look up. He must be ignoring her on purpose. Well, at least she had tried.

“Better,” Rabastan sudden reply made her flinch. “He was pretty bitter yesterday, but he’s back to his usual self today.”

His usual self wasn’t bitter? She decided to keep that thought to herself. “All the boils are gone then.”

“Mostly,” Rabastan replied, still not looking up from his food.

“Good.” She forced a smile, which he didn’t even see. Nor did he say anything else, causing them to lapse into silence again.

Twice Andromeda tried to say something, but her inability to think of anything forced her to disguise it as a cough. Both times.

“Rabastan,” Bella said finally, toward the end of Breakfast hour. “You’re coming with your family to our manor for Christmas, yes?”

“Of course,” Rabastan said, “Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

Meda wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected a faint hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“You won’t regret it,” Bella said, digging into her potatoes with relish. “Andromeda spends most of it delighting us with her voice.”

Andromeda dropped her fork with a resounding clatter.

Rabastan finally looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “You sing?”

“No,’ she said to him, the turned her head to glare at her sister. “I don’t.”

“She has an unforgettable rendition of God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs,” Bella said with a perfectly straight face, though she flashed Andromeda a grin afterwards.

Rabastan was grinning a little too. “I look forward to it.”

“No,” Andromeda said, turning back to him, “You aren’t.” With another glare at her sister, who tried to look innocent, a weird look for her, she left.

But when she looked back and caught Rabastan’s gaze, she smiled.

She went to look for Narcissa, though she didn’t see her again until lunch. This time she managed to sit next to her. Narcissa stiffened, but otherwise didn’t react. Since Andromeda had half expected her to get up and leave, she took this as a positive sign.

“Can we talk?” She said softly

“I told you, I have nothing to say,” Narcissa said curtly, tensing up again.

“Not about that,” Andromeda said quickly, even though that had been what she wanted to talk about. She’d learn from trying to force it out Narcissa though.

“How are you keeping up with your O.W.L homework? Is there anything I can help you with?”

Narcissa was silent, breathing heavily. Then, “Now that you mention it, Professor McGonagall was been nagging me about my…” she looked up, and trailed off.

Andromeda followed her gaze, a slight frown on her lips, but it was soon clear what her sister had seen. Entering the Great Hall were none other than Rodolphus Lestrange and his friends.

Andromeda could practically feel her throat drying, and her heart thumped uncomfortably. The last time she’d seen them they’d been casually discussing turning someone inside out.

She looked back at her sister, to find that she was staring at Rodolphus, as though transfixed. Her lips were pressed into a deformed looking line and her hands were fidgeting nervously in her lap. Rodolphus looked their way, and though his eyes did not rest on Narcissa, she hastily stood up.

“I’m sorry, I—“ but it seems she was too distracted to think up an excuse as she scurried away. Andromeda watched her sister leave, her mouth open slightly, before her gaze drifted to Rodolphus. He was watching Narcissa too. There was something odd about his look, he wasn’t blinking, and his eyes were gleaming. He reminded her a wolf, the way a wolf might watch its prey.

It was like pressing the button on Ted’s movie machine. Everything was fuzzy, until it all clicked into place.

Her sister’s odd behavior, it began when she’d started sneaking around with Rodolphus, hadn’t it? Andromeda had never understood why Narcissa been so determined to hide her affair, but now…

Swallowing, she glanced down at her hand, before clenching it into a fist. It wasn’t quite the size of the apple. She glanced up, over the table, where Rodolphus was holding his fork. His hand was bigger than hers, much closer the size of the bruises on Narcissa.

Her heart, which was pounding moments before, suddenly stopped. Coldness swept over her skin, almost like her blood stopped flowing. She saw her sister’s bruises, her scared expression, and the way she flinched away from her in the bathroom that time Andromeda had tried to touch her. She’d assumed it was because Narcissa knew something about Ted, but this fit.

Bile rose in throat. How long had this been happening, exactly? Ever since she’d started dating him? Ever since that time she’d seem on the Hogwarts’s grounds?

But no, she shook her head, this was crazy right? Rodolphus couldn’t be beating her sister. Why would he? She was pureblood. And a Black. Why would he want to hurt her?

How could he dare?

But then she remembered the way Rodolphus had roughly shoved her sister against the wall. And the way he had so casually spoken of turning the Hufflepuff girl inside out. She’d always thought there’d been something off about him, something unsettling, frightening even.

And now she knew what it was.

For some reason, that knowledge seemed to calm her. Maybe it was finally understanding, finally seeing what had eluded her for so long. Of course, this calmness did nothing to lessen the guilt that was now eating away at her insides. Narcissa was her sister. She should’ve figured out what was going on weeks ago, and if she hadn’t been so distracted with Ted, she might have. What’s more, now that numbness over her discovery was fading, a new anxiety was taking its place. So she knew, what was she supposed to do now?

Her first thought, of course, was to go to Narcissa, make her see reason, but what if Narcissa didn’t listen to her? What if it only made things worse?

Her next thought, was of course, her parents, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to do that either. They screamed until they were both hoarse because she’d stopped Bellatrix from killing someone, how would they respond to this? She wanted to believe they’d do the right thing, protect their youngest daughter, but she couldn’t. She didn’t trust them.

She let out a long breath, then what? She couldn’t do nothing. Not anymore. She glanced over at Rodolphus again, even though doing so made her feel sick.

He was talking to his brother. Andromeda couldn’t heart what he was saying, but whatever it was made Rabastan laugh.

Andromeda froze. She hadn’t thought about this angle before. Her fiancé’s brother was beating her little sister. She could scarcely force herself to think it, let alone dwell on it, but it was true. The man that Rabastan was chuckling with, had hurt her sister. Badly. Did he know?

She hadn’t, so there was no reason to assume he had. But he must realize something was wrong with his brother. Did he not care? Or maybe he was just turning a blind eye, like she had done with Bellatrix for so many years. All things considered, she didn’t have a reason to be angry with Rabastan, not without proof that he knew what was happening. It would make her a bigger hypocrite than Amycus.

All the same, her stomach clenched when Rabastan looked over at her and smiled. She did not return it, and was forced to look away before he saw the accusation in her eyes.

Apparently, Bellatrix had been watching her, as she was glancing between Rabastan and Andromeda. Upon catching Andromeda’s glance, her eyes narrowed. She beckoned Andromeda before standing up at heading to the Entrance Hall.

For the second time today, Andromeda swore something audibly clicked in her brain. She could tell Bellatrix. Bella may be many things, but she’d always been protective of her family. When Dolohov had called Andromeda a prat because she’d refused to hex a muggleborn who run into her as a first year, Bellatrix had performed the scourgify jinx on him so many times he was sent to the Hospital Wing because he couldn’t stop coughing up soap suds. And when this Gryffindor boy had hit on Narcissa, she’d strung him up by his ankles and threatened to drop him from twenty feet up. When Professor McGonagall told her to bring him down, she did.

Luckily Professor McGonagall managed to slow his fall before he broke his neck.

People had got the message; don’t mess around with Bella Black’s little sisters.

Andromeda stood up, keeping her eyes on Bella as she hurried out into the entrance hall. A lot had changed since then, but they were still family. Bella would want to protect Narcissa, wouldn’t she? Besides, if there was one thing her sister hated more than muggleborns and blood traitors, it was misogynists. She’d never let Rodolphus do this to their sister.


End file.
